Trayce Jackson-Davis named Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year
Indiana Senior forward Trayce Jackson-Davis was named the 2023 Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year, as announced on ESPN College GameDay on Saturday. “I could not be more excited to receive this year’s Karl Malone Award, “said Jackson-Davis. “This is something I share with our coaches and staff, my teammates, family, and all of Hoosier Nation. Thank you to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame for this honor.” Jackson-Davis joins Montrezl Harrell (Louisville, 2015), Georges Niang (Iowa State, 2016), Johnathan Motley, Baylor (2017), Deandre Ayton (Arizona, 2018), Zion Williamson (Duke, 2019), Obi Toppin (Dayton, 2020), Drew Timme (Gonzaga, 2021), and Keegan Murray (Iowa, 2022) as recipients of the prestigious award. “Trayce has accomplished so much as an Indiana Hoosier and is very deserving of the Karl Malone Award,” said IU Coach Mike Woodson. “When this team was down in early January, he put the entire program on his shoulders, and night after night he made winning plays. He was the best player on the court all the way through the postseason.”
Jackson-Davis, a consensus All-America First Team selection, started 32 games this season and averaged 20.9 points, 10.8 rebounds, 4.0 assists, and 2.9 blocks per game. He is the first Division I men’s basketball player to average at least 20.0 points, 10.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists, and 2.0 blocks in a season in over 25 years. He led the Hoosiers in all four categories while also shooting 58.2% (262-of-450) from the floor and 69.5% (146-of-210) from the free throw line.
TJD has previously been honored as an All-America First Team player by the Associated Press, NABC, Sporting News, USBWA, and the Wooden Award. He was honored as a unanimous All-Big Ten First Team selection by both the coaches and the media and was tabbed to the All-Big Ten Defensive Team. Jackson-Davis was named Big Ten Player of the Week on five occasions during his senior campaign. Jackson-Davis finished his Hoosier career third on the all-time program list for career points (2,258) and double-doubles (50). He holds the school record in both career rebounds (1,143) and blocked shots (270). TJD became the fifth player in Big Ten men’s basketball history to amass 2,000 career points and 1,000 career rebounds. He compiled 11 career 30-point games, 24 games with at least 20 points and 10 rebounds, and 112 games with at least 10 points scored. He blocked at least one shot in 105 games and owns 78 multi-block games to his credit. He averaged 17.9 points, 9.1 rebounds, and 2.1 blocks per game over his four seasons with the Cream and Crimson.
Indiana University Men’s Basketball Freshman Jalen Hood-Schifino declares for the 2023 NBA Draft Indiana freshman guard Jalen Hood-Schifino is declaring for the 2023 NBA draft and will not return to school for his sophomore season. The news was reported by Jonathan Givony and Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.com. Hood-Schifino, the Big Ten freshman of the year, averaged 13.7 points, 4.1 rebounds and 3.7 assists in 33.1 minutes per game for the Hoosiers. He’s currently regarded as a first-round pick in June’s NBA draft and could potentially be a lottery pick with a strong showing in the pre-draft process. The deadline for underclassmen to declare for the 2023 NBA draft is 11:59pm on Sunday, April 23. The 2023 NBA draft is set for Thursday, June 22 at the Barclays Center. Hood-Schifino becomes the fourth one-and-done player to suit up for the Hoosiers. The previous three Eric Gordon, Noah Vonleh and Romeo Langford were all lottery picks.
Indiana University Football Player Jaylin Lucas earns Preseason All-American Honors from Walter Camp
The first preseason honors have rolled out and Indiana sophomore Jaylin Lucas has earned a nod to the Walter Camp Preseason All-America team as the first-team kick return specialist. In 2022, Lucas earned All-America accolades from six outlets, which included first-team nods from CBS Sports, Pro Football Focus, Walter Camp and USA Today. He was the Big Ten’s Rodgers–Dwight Return Specialist of the Year and a first-team All-Big Ten pick by the conference coaches & media, Phil Steele, Pro Football Focus and the Associated Press. He was the first IU return specialist to earn All-Big Ten honors and the first true freshman to win the Rodgers–Dwight Return Specialist of the Year (both began in 2015).
The first Indiana kick returner to garner All-America status since Marcus Thigpen during the 2006 season, Lucas ranks No. 2 on both the IU single season and career charts after one season on campus. He trails Thigpen (2005-08), who returned all three of his career kickoffs for scores during the 2006 campaign. With 591 kickoff return yards, Lucas finished No. 12 in a single season in program history and led the Big Ten in the category. His 28.1 yards per return ranked No. 4 nationally. He added 271 yards rushing and 82 yards receiving to total 994 all-purpose yards on the season to lead the team. That total is the most in a season by an IU player since Whop Philyor (1,094) in 2019. The Houma, Louisiana, native was the first Hoosier since Tevin Coleman in 2014 with three 70-yard scoring plays in a single season. Both of his kickoff return scores covered 80-plus yards and he added a 71-yard rushing touchdown in the season finale versus Purdue as part of his first career 100-yard rushing game.
#19 Indiana Women’s Water Polo defeats #15 Arizona State
No. 19 Indiana earned its first MPSF win of the season and first win over Arizona State in 17 years in a 11-7 victory at Counsilman Billingsley Aquatic Center on Saturday afternoon. Indiana (15-11, 1-4 MPSF) led from the jump, as sophomore Sophia Sollie connected on the first of four goals in the game. Senior Robyn Greenslade added to the score before ASU would get on the board. Senior Lanna Debow would connect in the final second of the first quarter to give IU a 3-1 lead. Sollie added another to start off the second as the Sun Devils (8-10, 0-3 MPSF) climbed back within one with 5:21 to play. Sollie and sophomore Skylar Kidd went back-to-back to increase its lead at the break to 6-3.
Despite being outscored 3-1 in the third, the Hoosiers weathered the storm and held a slim lead going to the fourth (7-6). They would turn the jets on in the final eight minutes of play. Three-straight goals from sophomore Grace Hathaway, senior Zoe Crouch and freshman Louisa Downes pushed Indiana’s lead back to four, 10-6 with 2:49 to go. ASU added one in the fourth but a goal from junior Kallie White helped her team come away with the victory. Indiana defeated Arizona State for the first time since 2005 in the win. It’s four-goal victory is the largest in the series for the Hoosiers which dates back to 2003. Sollie led IU in scoring with four goals. Seven other Hoosiers scored goals in the win. Crouch and Downes had a pair of assists. Graduate student goalie Mary Askew had 10 saves and a team-high four steals. The Hoosiers wrap up action at home this Saturday against Michigan at 1pm.
Former Purdue Men’s Basketball Coach Gene Keady selected for the Basketball Hall of Fame
Longtime Purdue men’s head basketball coach Gene Keady has been elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame announced its class of 2023 on Saturday morning in Houston as part of the NCAA Men’s Final Four weekend. “Without people around you, you can’t achieve this achievement,” Keady said. “It’s about us, not me and I really appreciate being honored for this. It’s the biggest honor I’ve ever achieved.”
Keady spent 25 seasons in West Lafayette winning 512 games to become the program’s all-time winningest coach. He had 14 20-win seasons, including six with 25 or more victories. He led the Boilermakers to 17 NCAA Tournament appearances with two trips to the Elite Eight in 1994 and 2000. Purdue won six Big Ten championships under Keady’s leadership, including three straight outright from 1994-1996. He won conference coach of the year a record seven times and national coach of the year six times.
Keady played three sports at Kansas State: football, baseball and track and field. The Steelers drafted him in the 19th round of the 1958 NFL Draft. His pro football career didn’t take off, so he returned to Kansas and began coaching basketball at Beloit High School. “You just kind of go along with the flow and try to do what’s right for yourself to get your degree and your family. That’s why I stayed in basketball and it’s warmer, too, by the way,” Keady joked. “It was one of those things where I did it because I loved it and I was pretty good at it. I had great people around me.” He earned his master’s degree while at Beloit, then moved on to the collegiate ranks and Hutchinson Junior College. He was an assistant at Arkansas under Eddie Sutton for four seasons and the head coach at Western Kentucky for two years, before Purdue hired him in 1980.
Several successful Division I head coaches worked as an assistant for Keady, including the Boilermakers’ current head coach Matt Painter, who also played for him from 1989-93. He retired from Purdue after the 2005 season, handing over the program to Painter. He finished his coaching career with stints as an assistant for the Toronto Raptors and St. John’s. Joining Keady in the class of 2023 are Gregg Popovich, Dirk Nowitzki, Tony Parker, Dwyane Wade, Becky Hammon, Jim Valvano, Gary Blair, Division III coach David Hixon, junior college coach Gene Bess and the 1976 U.S. Olympic women’s team. Enshrinement weekend will be in Springfield, Mass. on August 11-12.
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