Kansas City, Missouri — The crowd around the Kansas women’s players on Tuesday afternoon at T-Mobile Center for the annual Big 12 media days breakout session looked more like the horde we’ve seen around the men’s team all these years.
Cameras. Microphones. Recorders and reporters.
All lined up to check in with three Jayhawks and head coach Brandon Schneider about the upcoming season.
Two of the three came last year. Schneider has been there every year of his Kansas career. And joining them was a freshman from, of all places, Kansas City, forward Jaliya Davis.
Davis looked comfortable in the spotlight and doubled down on that by saying she felt comfortable, too. She smiled effortlessly, laughed at small jokes and even dished out a few jokes of her own while answering questions about her game, the team, the upcoming season and the day itself.
The picture Davis presented on Tuesday was the perfect way to illustrate everything she has been since she committed to KU and arrived on campus as one of the program’s most highly-rated prospects.
Cool. Collected. Comfortable. And anything but a rookie.
“She doesn’t look like a freshman and she doesn’t play like a freshman at all,” KU senior Lilly Meister said of Davis during KU’s media day last week. “I have the great pleasure of getting to guard her every now and then and she is one of the strongest people I’ve ever played against, and I’ve played against some pretty big girls.”
After recruiting her and following her youth career for years — she starred at nearby Blue Valley North and also was selected to the McDonald's All-American Game and Jordan Brand Classic as a senior — Schneider knew what type of player he was getting.
Strong. Skilled passer. Great feet and feel. Good scorer. Intense competitor.
But his ability to see her operate on a day-to-day basis has introduced him to a new element of her game. And it’s something that only those who get to see her in action behind the scenes are able to know much about.
“I think Jaliya has it. She has it more than me. Her work ethic is amazing. ... She does not look like a freshman out there. And we do not treat her like a freshman.”
— KU junior S'Mya Nichols
“The thing that impresses me the most is she has a plan the minute she walks in the gym as to what she wants to get accomplished in what we call pre-practice,” Schneider said. “That is very rare for a young player, to walk in and immediately get to work and that’s exciting.”
Added KU junior S’Mya Nichols, who, just two years ago, was in Davis’ shoes as the highly-ranked prospect from KC who was ready to take Kansas basketball by storm: “It was new for me to see for sure. But I knew that she was a competitor, so I’m not really surprised.”
The roots of Davis’ pre-practice routine go back to her father, William, who played at Oklahoma during the 1988-89 and 1989-90 seasons.
From an early age, he taught her the importance of finding a routine and sticking with it, and Davis has incorporated that tip into just about every aspect of her basketball life.
“He taught me a lot of what I know today,” the 6-2 forward said Tuesday with a wide grin. “We used to get workouts in a lot. So, he kind of just taught me how to get into routines and how to be comfortable with things I know. I think just being really good at the fundamentals of the game — rebounding, layups, the little things that might not seem like a lot — really impacts winning.”
KU freshman Jaliya Davis at Late Night in the Phog. [Kansas Athletics photos]
Spoken like the daughter of a former college standout, it’s those words and the actions behind them that have made this Kansas roster embrace Davis like a much older and wiser player from Day 1.
Nichols has said on multiple occasions that Davis is better as a freshman than she ever was. And a lot of the reason for her thinking that goes back to those little details that Davis has always emphasized.
“I think Jaliya has it,” Nichols said. “She has it more than me. Her work ethic is amazing. And her skill set, her feet and her agility, she does not look like a freshman out there. And we do not treat her like a freshman.”
So, what does this pre-practice routine look like and is it the same every time?
Pretty much.
It starts close to the rim, with flips off the backboard, layups, focusing on her follow-through and dialing in the mechanics of her shot.
Slowly, and as needed, she starts to expand to the routine out little by little until she’s at the free throw line treating each freebie in practice like it’s for a Big 12 title.
She has a routine for that, too. Two dribbles. Spin the ball. Get lined up. And let it fly.
“I’m kind of just a player that likes consistency,” Davis said Tuesday. “I always get in the gym and just get right to work.”
🎬🤩 https://t.co/jmqWJxXv06 pic.twitter.com/AHssNxZfs0
— Kansas Women's Basketball (@KUWBball) October 21, 2025
While most of her individual work before the team stuff at practice is focused on the area in and around the lane, Davis has shown lately that her actual game extends well beyond that.
“I think where she has grown tremendously already is stretching her game, not just to the high post but beyond,” Schneider said recently. “She’s so much more comfortable in some perimeter situations.”
And that only adds to her ability as “a terrific passer,” who can “really run the floor” and “can rebound” and is “really good around the rim.”
Those descriptors also came from Schneider, and it’s easy to see why the KU players and coaches have taken to treating Davis like a player who’s been around the college game for longer than a few months.
Davis loves that the expectations placed on her are as high as they are, because it helps ensure that she’ll never let the work slip.
“I’m definitely happy to have that pushing me,” she said Tuesday. “They just expect me to know the plays, know what I’m supposed to be doing, know where I’m supposed to be on the court and to do what I’m supposed to.”
Some expectations are merely goals or things people believe can happen.
The expectations surrounding Davis come from the work and what her Jayhawk teammates already have seen on a daily basis.
“She’s very strong, and I think her confidence is great, too,” Meister said. “She doesn’t get down on herself ever. She’s always just kind of building herself up and continuing to put in the work. Her ceiling is very, very high.”
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