KU coach Bill Self reflects on Elmarko Jackson’s injury: ‘It takes time to come back’

For Kansas men’s basketball players and coaches, the excitement of reporting to campus for summer school was tempered dramatically on Tuesday — the second day of the 2024 summer semester — when sophomore combo guard Elmarko Jackson fell to the Horejsi Center playing surface after sustaining a serious knee injury in an intrasquad scrimmage at Bill Self’s basketball camp for youths.

“Darn it, darn it … he has worked so hard and improved so much,” Self, KU’s 22nd-year coach, said in a brief interview with The Star on Wednesday — one held 10 minutes after he issued a news release indicating Jackson, a starter in 17 of 34 games his freshman season, would miss the entire 2024-25 campaign because of a torn patellar tendon in his left knee.

“We’re crushed by this,” Self added, indicating the Marlton, New Jersey, native had worked hard to improve his skill set since the end of his freshman season on March 23.

“This will be a challenge that he will meet head on, and he will return as good as ever,” Self, looking at the bright side, added.

However, following surgery, it’ll take a full 12 months for Jackson to be back on the court ready to resume his college career.

This injury, Self pointed out, is a bit different from others incurred by KU players in the 22-year Self era.

“Obviously we’ve had some bad injuries,” Self told The Star. “Kevin McCullar (knee injury that prevented him from playing in the 2023-24 postseason); Joel Embiid (back injury that prevented him from playing in the 2013-14 postseason); Brandon Rush (ACL tear in spring of 2007 that required surgery and six months rehab prior to start of his junior year).

“We’ve had others that have been knocked down but we knew they’d come back in a much shorter amount of time. This is the longest we’ll have someone go through rehab to get back to 100%. That’s the nature of this injury. It takes time to come back from it.”

Self disagreed that Jackson’s situation could be classified as a “fluke injury.” Jackson was hurt on a play on the offensive end. He drove through the lane to the basket, appeared to slip prior to shooting, then tumbled to the floor.

“I don’t know about a ‘fluke.’ He planted and the knee gave way. It happens in basketball,” Self said. “Perry (Ellis) did the same thing several years ago. He made a full recovery. He’s still playing professionally overseas.”

Former KU forward Perry Ellis, who last played at KU during the 2015-16 season, tore his right patellar tendon during a TBT game in Wichita in the summer of 2019.

“Basically, I was just falling backwards,” Ellis said at the time, explaining his own patella tear. “I looked back at the clip and that’s really all that happened. I’m falling backwards, trying to catch myself on my right leg, and so much weight was on the back I guess it just gave away. I remember falling and looking over at my mom, looking over at her and I said, ‘It’s a wrap.’”

Ellis, who a week prior to the injury signed a contract with a team in Japan, missed the entire 2019-20 season.

He spent that season working as a member of Self’s coaching support staff at KU. He rehabbed in Lawrence.

“It sounds like the same thing,” Ellis said in a text message to The Star, referring to Jackson’s injury.

“He is in the right place to be able to recover from that,” Ellis added, referring to rehabbing under the instruction of the medical staff at KU.

As far as how this injury will affect the KU team during the 2024-25 season, Self said: “Yes, we will survive it (injury). We’ve got some players. We are going to be fine but the way our team looked yesterday is certainly different than the way it looks now.”

Self was speaking prior to Wednesday’s announcement that Mississippi State senior guard Shakeel Moore, who entered the transfer portal on April 3, had chosen KU as his transfer destination.

Moore, known as one of the top perimeter defensive players in the SEC the past three seasons, figures to immediately enter KU’s playing rotation.

He’s part of a deep guard group that includes fellow transfers AJ Storr (Wisconsin), Zeke Mayo (South Dakota State) and Rylan Griffen (Alabama). KU also returns starting point guard Dajuan Harris, reserve Jamari McDowell and incoming freshman guard Rakease Passmore, who is ranked No. 40 in the recruiting class of 2024 by Rivals.com. Former Rice guard Noah Shelby is expected to redshirt the season, Self has said.

“This isn’t about the team now. It’s about Elmarko and him staying positive,” Self said, “and coming back better than ever. It’s just going to take some time, but that will happen.”