Self's expectations for Elmarko Jackson remain the same

Elmarko Jackson is averaging 5.8 points and 3.8 assists per game.

Self knows that sometimes it takes freshmen awhile to get acclimated to the college game.

Examples

- Kelly Oubre and Mario Chalmers did not get consistent playing time until later in the season.

- Both Cole Aldrich and TRob ended up lottery picks, but they couldn't get into the game as freshmen until later in their first season (remember the "Cole Aldrich surprise" against "Pyscho" Hansbrough whatever in the 2008 Final Four).

Jackson may not be where he is supposed to be right now, but Self believes he will get there.

Quotes from JayhawkSlant - Joe Blake: Self's expectations for Elmarko Jackson remain the same
"The guys have done fine, but it's still early and they're not quite where we hope they would be, but they're not so far off that they can't get there in a short amount of time," Self said.

The other factor that keeps Self at ease is that the Jayhawks have played a brutal schedule up to this point, meaning that he has a lot on his shoulders.

"The schedule really hasn't lended itself to playing through a ton of mistakes," Self said. "I mean, you're playing for the best 15 teams in the country in the first two and a half weeks of the season. There's not too many teams doing that as well."

With the upcoming schedule for Kansas, there are not very many games remaining for them to get experimental with their rotation. With seven non conference games remaining, the Jayhawks play two teams that are outside of the top 300 in KenPom rankings (UMKC No. 303, Eastern Illinois No.345), and everyone else outside of Wichita State at No.106 is in the top 100.

The Jayhawks have some important, resume-building opportunities coming up that they are going to want to have in the win column come Selection Sunday.

"If you're just trying to work in guys just because they're young to play, I'm not sure those are the type of games you do that... I think it'll happen naturally," Self said.

Jackson coming in with as many accolades as he had changes nothing in Self's mind. Especially when there has been such a small sample size.

"I think is so unfair to think that we're making a judgment based on who somebody is based on an expectation," Self said. "I'll be honest with you. Whether you're a McDonald's All-American or Christian Braun, I got the exact same expectation for you."

Right now, Jackson and other freshmen across the country are trying to make their own mark on the schools they play for, and Self knows that what happened in high school never matters once it's time for college basketball.

"When you take that jacket off, or if you never got one to put on, it doesn't matter, It's in a closet when you get here, and you got to reprove yourself all over again," Self said. "That's the way it works everywhere."