Why KU guard Elmarko Jackson — after redshirt season — is excited for next year’s team
Kansas basketball guards Elmarko Jackson, Rylan Griffen and Noah Shelby, as well as forwards Flory Bidunga and Justin Cross, stopped by Haskell University’s Coffin Complex over the weekend to watch future Jayhawk Darryn Peterson lead his California Prolific Prep team to two victories and the Grind Session World Championship.
“He’s an excellent player. He’s got pro game,” KU sophomore guard Jackson said of Peterson, a 6-foot-5 McDonald’s All-American and the 2025 Naismith High School Player of the Year who has signed with KU and is projected to be the starting point guard for the Jayhawks in 2025-26.
“He’s everything they say he is. I’m excited for him to get going inside the fieldhouse and show all the fans what he’s about,” Jackson added.
Jackson, who told The Star in a recent interview he’s expecting to be cleared for contract drills in May after a complete recovery from last June’s patellar tendon surgery in his left knee, is a candidate to start in the same backcourt as Peterson next season. Peterson combined for 44 points in the two wins at Haskell including 23 points in the title game victory Sunday.
“I think it’s going to be exciting,” Jackson said, when asked about the play of KU’s current group of returning guards. Guards ticketed to be back as of Monday (if they don’t enter the transfer portal) are: Jackson, Shelby, Griffen, AJ Storr, David Coit, Jamari McDowell and Rakease Passmore.
“It’s going to be fun. There will be a lot of energy. (We will) defend, score, play fast in transition, hit 3s,” Jackson added.
Asked about possible movement of teammates in the portal, Jackson, who would like to be one of the team’s leaders next season, said: “I don’t know what guys are doing but you’ve got a great (coaching) staff and a lot of good things we can build off of. In this day and age it’s good to stay down, trying to work on your game in one place. That’s what I want to do.
“I’m really excited to get to work with the batch of guys we’ve got coming back, just put our heads down and work.”
He would love for current freshman big man Flory Bidunga to return. Jackson likely envisions lofting up several lobs to the athletic 6-foot-9 player from Congo in 2025-26.
“Flory’s going to be excellent,” said Jackson, who watched intently from the bench all season as he rehabbed. “He’s just got some stuff to learn like everybody else, but we do know he’s going to be great.”
Jackson, a 6-foot-3, 195-pound 2023 McDonald’s All American out of Marlton, New Jersey, wasn’t shy about offering words of advice to players from the bench this past season.
“I think we have a couple voices in here,” Jackson said of the locker room. “We’re just ready to start the hard work. If you work hard it pays off in the end.”
Kansas went 21-13 last season.
“I think we will get back to being right,” Jackson added, displeased with this year’s mark. “This is Kansas. I feel with hard work, with this coaching staff working with us, we can achieve a lot.”
Jackson as a freshman at KU averaged 4.3 points per game on 40.6% shooting. He hit 12 of 45 3s for 26.7%. He dished 58 assists to 50 turnovers and had 26 steals.
KU coach Bill Self said he’s confident Jackson will soon be 100% recovered from his knee surgery.
“He hasn’t lost any explosiveness He looks good,” Self said. “Elmarko is a very, very smart kid, and comes from a great family. Since he couldn’t play, we wanted him involved in as much as he could be in coaching and seeing, ‘Here’s what we mean by getting the ball to the second side. Here’s a good shot, a bad shot,’ just so he could improve his basketball IQ. He and Jamari were there to say to guys like Rakease, ‘Hey, it’s OK. It may not be your time right now. Just go with the flow. Hey, fight through this.’ Those guys could help them because they’d been through it (as freshmen).”
Of Jackson’s game, Self said: “Athletically he gives us something we desperately need, speed. Speed makes up for mistakes. With speed you can screw up and get back. He makes up for mistakes. He can get back. He’s extremely explosive, been well-drilled, has come a long way considering he has only played organized basketball for four years. We’re excited about him.”
This story was originally published March 25, 2025 at 9:54 AM with the headline "Why KU guard Elmarko Jackson — after redshirt season — is excited for next year’s team."
