When we last wrote about the recruitment of class of 2019 forward Trayce Jackson-Davis, we cautioned that Hoosier fans would need to exercise some patience. That was two months ago. We may need to take our own advice, because this is turning into a bit more than what we expected.
It had been previously rumored that new high profile programs were expressing interest in the Greenwood, Indiana product. In a recent Rivals article, Jackson-Davis made it clear that North Carolina is one of those programs.
“Yes, Coach Williams has told me about their offense and that they watched me and they want to know more about me and get to know me,” he said. “He also talked about the position and how they are inside-out and how their bigs get to do more than just post up.
“North Carolina and Coach Williams said that they are highly interested.”
The Tar Heels have had success through the years plucking talent out of Indiana. Eric Montross, Sean May and Tyler Zeller are some of the more notable examples. As Jackson-Davis went on to say, part of the allure is the opportunity to play for a well known and successful coach.
“I just see Coach Williams as one of the best coaches of all time. And the knowledge you could learn from that. And also, there (are) always high caliber players there. I just think that they are always in the mix to win a national championship.”
That may be the biggest challenge that Archie Miller and his respected coaching staff have right now. While everyone knows this is a program on the rise, players in the class of 2019 still have to take it on faith. That could be one reason why you may see protracted recruiting timelines for some 2019 IU targets. There is no in-state Jordan Hulls in the class.
While Jackson-Davis and his Indy Heat teammate Keion Brooks, Jr. seem to clearly like the possibility of Indiana, it isn’t as though they have been destined to be Hoosiers since birth like Hulls. Jackson-Davis is legitimately evaluating his options.
If you don’t believe him, look at what his stepfather Ray Jackson had to say about the recruiting process in a separate article ($) on 247 Sports:
“A lot of people think that just because he’s an Indiana kid, he’s going to Indiana,” Jackson said. “Those writers are just writing to write things. His process is wide open. There are a lot of coaches who call us asking if they have a chance, but I think everyone has a chance.”
Consider us convinced. While we’d still say IU is the odds on favorite, this thing appears to be legitimately getting murky — and we aren’t just writing that to write it.
The next steps for the five-star are to narrow his list and then start taking visits. Lots of visits apparently. Jackson-Davis went on to say this in the Rivals article:
“I’m taking at least six or seven visits,” he said. “I need to find times and dates right now. I know right now I have three of them, but that doesn’t mean anything because I will be visiting every school that will be in my final seven. Just need to figure out which ones will be officials.”
The list trimming and visits will likely start soon after the July live periods in just over a week.
While we wouldn’t have guessed it two months ago, this recruitment could go on for several more months. Maybe even into the spring. That may be another lasting legacy of Romeo Langford. It may be a new trend. Trendon Watford indicated today that he is likely delaying a commitment to the spring. Another IU target, Jahmius Ramsey, said something similar recently as well.
An extended timeline may turn out to be a good thing. If any 2019 recruits have hesitations about Indiana because Archie Miller has yet to prove it on the court in Bloomington, they’ll surely have a much better indication by the spring. We suspect that they will like what they see.
Truth be told, there isn’t any reason to rush it, and Jackson-Davis has said that he doesn’t intend to. He has said that he will decide when he is 100 percent sure. In the meantime we have to continue to tell you to exercise patience. And we’ll continue to try to take our own advice.
PEACH JAM HIGHLIGHT VIDEOS
Below is nearly three minutes of video of Jackson-Davis at the Peach Jam. At 6-foot-9, the big man can run the floor, is strong finisher at the rim, and goes hard at the defensive end.
Here is another set of highlights from Peach Jam with some overlap with the video above. You may have seen this one. Jackson-Davis was dominant in his final game, with a 24 point, 18 rebound game that included 11 dunks.
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