INDIANAPOLIS -- Traevon Jackson remembers the play. He remembers the sick feeling he had when he released the shot, knowing it was off, and the sicker feeling when the ball hit the rim and the backboard and hung for what seemed like five seconds before falling off. He remembers the long embrace and long discussion he had outside the locker room with his father, Ohio State legend Jimmy Jackson, after the game, and how he spent much of the spring and summer thinking about getting back.
In last year's Kentucky-Wisconsin game at the Final Four, Jackson got the last shot.
Much has changed since then, but the same two teams meet Saturday night.
And Jackson would shoot it again.
"Absolutely," he said.
Wisconsin is a different team, and Jackson is in a much different role. He missed 19 games due to a foot injury and returned last weekend, playing only in spot duty. A senior and the Badgers' starting point guard for basically two and a half seasons played 16 total minutes in two regional wins, hitting an early 3-pointer vs. North Carolina but going scoreless vs. Arizona.
His teammates have given him another chance, and though he sat out a practice earlier this week he insists that was precautionary and designed to give him extra rest.
He hopes to have two games left in his college career, not just this rematch with 38-0 Kentucky.
"I'm blessed to be back and have this opportunity," Jackson said. "Sitting and watching was hard. And trying to come back, then getting back just for a few minutes and having to come off the bench, that was different. Just knowing how hard I've worked in four years to get these opportunities, it was tough.
"But I have another opportunity to really solidify my legacy at Wisconsin this weekend. It's a new role, a different situation. But with these games, we can be remembered forever."
Jackson is from Westerville, Ohio, not far from Ohio State's campus. He said he was leaning towards Arizona State four years ago over interest from Dayton and Akron when Wisconsin's Bo Ryan called him "out of the blue" and put on a recruiting full-court press.
"He told me what I wanted to hear, what recruits want to hear -- that they're wanted, that they fit, that success can be had," Jackson said. "I saw an opportunity to play in the Big Ten, an opportunity to win. I liked Wisconsin's style. I watched Jordan Taylor at the time and saw myself fitting that role."
Two Final Fours later, it's worked.
"Going back to high school, Trae Jackson wasn't getting a lot of love from Big Ten schools," Ryan said. "We liked his moxie. We liked his court awareness. Sometimes people see the flaws and other people see the positives. We thought Trae Jackson could be an excellent addition to us."
Wisconsin has won 20 of 21, and Bronson Koenig has played well in replacing Jackson in the starting lineup. But after going through the pain of what he first thought was a minor injury then more than two months of rehab and frustration in trying to get back, Jackson has both accepted his situation and embraced it.
Saturday night, he plans to come out firing. And if the last shot comes his way, he'll take it again.
"It's a different Kentucky team, a different year, a different circumstance for all of us," he said. "We remember last year. We remember the sick feeling. We didn't expect to lose and we never do. We're going to come out and go as hard as we can, and I plan to be there with my teammates all the way."
