Kansas coach Bill Self knows what his message needs to be to freshman guard Elmarko Jackson, a player he’s said could both end up being his team’s best overall athlete and determine the Jayhawks’ ceiling by the end of the season: “Don’t worry about running plays, just go play. Don’t worry about screwing up, just go 100 miles an hour.”
If anyone could go that fast it would be Jackson, the reigning McDonald’s All-American who can push the pace to supersonic speeds in transition and off the dribble. He’s shown that ability in fits and spurts, beginning over the summer when KU was playing exhibition games in Puerto Rico. But of late, Self has instead referred to him as “paralyzed” by the extent to which he is in his own head.
“I think he cares so much that he’s just wanting to please, but I think it’s time,” Self added Friday.
Self acknowledged that “very rarely does that type of coachspeak” urging a player to be looser and unencumbered “ever prevail or work.” As he put it bluntly, not only Jackson but the rest of KU’s new arrivals have to “go through some crap” and learn from experience. He said they’ve played well in practice but not yet in games.
Jackson’s flashes have continued to some extent into the Jayhawks’ two recent exhibitions at Illinois and versus Fort Hays State, but they haven’t transformed yet into materially impressive, consistent performances, as he continues to battle for KU’s fifth starting spot: 4 points and two assists with a rebound and four fouls, plus the game’s worst plus-minus (minus-13), in 26 minutes against the Illini, then zero points, a rebound and three assists in about 16 more against the Tigers.
“That’s what I told Elmarko, I texted him, I said, ‘You know, this is as hard as it’s going to get for you,'” Self said. “‘It ain’t that bad. It’s going to come together, it just hasn’t come together yet. But it will and it will soon, I know that.'”
Jackson will have plenty of opportunities early on to build what Self called “repetitive confidence” via game action. The Jayhawks host a pair of mid-majors in North Carolina Central in the season opener Monday, then Manhattan the following Friday. But then they’re on to face blueblood Kentucky in Chicago for the Champions Classic and two more of the nation’s top teams, depending on tournament results, in the Maui Invitational in Honolulu. By Thanksgiving, the freshmen could be seasoned.
Jackson’s acclimation process could also mean leaning even more heavily on the program cornerstones around him, like point guard Dajuan Harris Jr., and fellow guard Kevin McCullar Jr., who will be running the offense when Harris isn’t on the floor. This preseason, Jackson has already credited those veterans, along with Hunter Dickinson and KJ Adams Jr., with making his transition “relatively smooth” and telling him what he needs to know whenever he’s confused about a play or a defensive alignment.
Getting to full strength
Fellow freshman Johnny Furphy was on a minutes restriction for Wednesday’s exhibition, his Allen Fieldhouse debut, due to shin splints; he couldn’t play more than 15 but still turned in a fairly strong performance. Self said that his activity “will be monitored for a while” but gradually grow.
McCullar, who has been KU’s most impressive player thus far, experienced whiplash after a collision going for a loose ball at Illinois. By Wednesday he was still dealing with a stiff neck, and got hit in the neck in the first half, limiting his potential action down the stretch. On Friday he was not expected to practice but Self said he was on track to be unlimited next week.
