Elmarko Jackson injury update: Bill Self reveals when Kansas guard will be 100%

The Kansas Jayhawks have been without one of their promising players, Elmarko Jackson, this season as he recovers from an injury. Since then, head coach Bill Self has needed to find a way to replace his production and the potential that he flashed during his freshman season.

During a summer scrimmage, Elmarko Jackson suffered a torn patellar tendon in his left knee. The injury seemed to effectively end his 2024-25 season before it even began as he begins the recovery process.

That recovery process was on display ahead of Kansas’ game against Arizona State when he was seen shooting the ball around prior to the game. With that, Self shared an update on Jackson’s status and shared that he is trending to be healthy by March.

“Well, he’s not practicing by any stretch but he’s doing individuals and one-on-zero,” Bill Self said. “So, he’s not going to be in contact until the season’s over. But he’s making really good progress. He’ll be 100% unless he has a setback you would think by March or so.”

Even though Elmarko Jackson is capable of being healthy by March if he avoids a setback and there being a chance that Kansas plays well into March, it doesn’t sound like he’ll be back on the floor this season if contact isn’t coming until the season comes to an end. Still, it’s a positive update overall given what the injury was that Jackson suffered.

Elmarko Jackson came to Kansas as a four-star recruit in the Class of 2023, according to the On3 Industry Ranking. He was the fourth-ranked point guard, the 23rd-ranked player overall, and the top-ranked player from Connecticut in that recruiting cycle.

As a freshman, Bill Self clearly had a lot of trust in Elmarko Jackson. He would play in 34 games and get 17 starts. He did that while averaging 18.6 minutes per game for 4.3 points, 1.4 rebounds, and 1.7 assists per game. He also shot 40.6 percent from the field and 26.7 percent from three-point range as a freshman.

The Kansas Jayhawks earned another win on Wednesday night, beating Arizona State 74-55. It was a game the Jayhawks needed to come from behind to win and did so with a massive defensive effort in the second half, holding the Sun Devils to just 13 second-half points.

Now sitting at 11-3 overall and 2-1 in Big 12 play, Kansas is prepping for a run another run in the Big 12 this season.