Mike Woodson 'going to beg' Trayce Jackson-Davis to return, discusses plans for development moving forward
Mike Woodson is trying to hit the ground running as the new head coach of the Hoosiers, and he knows there is one player that would be a big help to Indiana next season.
In a Tuesday evening interview, Woodson discussed some of his first steps as the new head coach at Indiana. He reiterated the need to “recruit” some of Indiana’s players back out of the transfer portal as he tries to build a roster. Woodson also praised the decision to bring Thad Matta to IU as a way to add another basketball mind to the program.
Jon Blau with the Herald-Times shared Woodson’s comments:
Woodson talking about Thad Matta, who was hired as an associate AD for men's basketball administration. Says you can never have too many basketball minds working together.
"I think it's excellent what Scott did. I don't think many colleges are doing that." #iubb
— Jon Blau (@Jon_Blau) March 30, 2021
One player Woodson highlighted was star forward Trayce Jackson-Davis. Woodson even admitted that he will “beg” the All-B1G selection to stay in Bloomington another season and discussed ways he would like to see Jackson-Davis develop before moving on:
*Woodson said "other hand" … TJD is obviously left-hand dominant, and the "other" would be the right.
— Jon Blau (@Jon_Blau) March 30, 2021
Even with some of his off-hand deficiencies, Jackson-Davis averaged 19.1 points and 9.0 rebounds while shooting 52% from the field this past season. Indiana’s second-leading scorer was Armaan Franklin at 11.4 points per game.
It will be interesting to see if Jackson-Davis does indeed decide to move on or come back. However, it is at least good to hear that Woodson wants him back and has plans for his development if he comes back to Bloomington for his junior season.