College Hoops

2022-23 Non-conference opponent preview: Jackson State – Inside the Hall

Amanda Foster

Indiana’s 2022-23 non-conference schedule was finalized on July 1 and Inside the Hall will have a team-by-team look at all 11 opponents. Today: Jackson State.

In the third and final game of the Thanksgiving week Hoosier Classic, Indiana will play Jackson State University in Bloomington on Friday Nov. 24. The Tigers, members of the Southwestern Athletic Conference, are coming off an 11-19 season with a 9-9 conference record.

This matchup will mark the second consecutive season Indiana will host Jackson State, as the Hoosiers posted a dominant 70-35 win last November. However, a lot has changed for the Tigers since that matchup.

One of the most notable changes to the Jackson State team comes in the form of a new head coach, Mo Williams. Williams, a Jackson native, was most recently the head coach at Alabama State University, where he boosted the Hornets into the top four in the SWAC in scoring, assists, three-point field goal percentage, free throw percentage and blocked shots.

In the 2021-22 season, the Jackson State was last in the SWAC in scoring (61 ppg) and free throw percentage (63.4%). Williams’ arrival could prove to be what the team needs to rise to the top of the conference.

Williams also holds 14 years of NBA experience, in which he played with a total of seven teams. He made the biggest impact with the Cleveland Cavaliers, where he played in the beginning and end of his professional career, both when Lebron James was on the team in 2008-10 and when the Cavaliers won the NBA Championship in 2015-16.

Mike Woodson was coaching in the NBA during Williams’ playing career, and the two would have likely crossed paths when Woodson was the head coach of the New York Knicks from 2011-14.

Williams is bringing with him junior Trace Young, a former three-star guard out of high school. At Alabama State, Young averaged 11.7 points and 5.4 rebounds per game in the 2021-22 season. He entered the college scene as a player with a lot of potential, and after starting his career strong under Williams at ASU, it’s no surprise he would want to continue on with his coach. Standing at 6-foot-8, Young will be able to contribute on both ends of the floor, as long as he can remain consistent — something he’s struggled with in the past.

Incoming players to watch besides Young include point guards Chase Adams and Keionte Cornelius, who both have good ball-handling skills and the ability to score at the rim and from beyond the arc.

Adams played at the…

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