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Sports Illustrated recently released its college basketball preview. They had a ton of great rankings and projections including some of the projected stat leaders. The Big Ten had a boatload of players make the cut. Sports Illustrated looked at the top scorers, efficient players, breakout stars, incoming recruits, and transfers. Take a look at who from the conference made the cut.
Big Ten Players on Sports Illustrated's Top 100 Scorers List
- #7 - Myles Mack, Rutgers
- #8 - Terran Petteway, Nebraska
- #13 - DJ Newbill, Penn State
- #24 - Yogi Ferrell, Indiana
- #40 - Andre Hollins, Minnesota
- #44 - Rayvonte Rice, Illinois
- #58 - Aaron White, Iowa
- #71 - Dez Wells, Maryland
- #74 - Zak Irvin, Michigan
- #83 - Sam Dekker, Wisconsin
- #90 - Deandre Mathieu, Minnesota
- #93 - Kadeem Jack, Rutgers
- #94 - AJ Hammons, Purdue
It's interesting to see a total of 13 players make the list of the Top 100 scorers by NBC. It's also pretty impressive to see Myles Mack of Rutgers top the list at #7. Considering the strength of the Big Ten, it's pretty surprising to see a newcomer top the chart, but Mack can certainly score. Sports Illustrated also ranked the top projected breakout starslist. Here is who made the cut.
Big Ten Players On Top Projected Breakout Stars
- #3 - Zak Irvin, Michigan
- #12 - Marc Loving, Ohio State
- #19 - Malcolm Hill, Illinois
- #23 - Peter Jok, Iowa
- #33 - Myles Mack, Rutgers
- #34 - Troy Williams, Indiana
- #36 - Derrick Walton, Michigan
- #39 - Bryson Scott, Purdue
- #43 - Travis Trice, Michigan State
- #49 - Jarrod Uthoff, Iowa
- Just Missed: Kendall Stephens, Purdue
It is interesting to see Michigan's Zak Irvin pop up at #3 on Sports Illustrated's list of the top breakout stars. He had a nice first season in Ann Arbor, but had to play on a tough depth chart. It will be interesting to see if he can live up to that hype. Sports Illustrated also looked at the top projected freshmen. Here is who made the cut.
Big Ten Players On Top Projected Freshmen List
- #4 - D'Angelo Russell, Ohio State
- #10 - James Blackmon, Jr., Indiana
- #21 - Melo Trimble, Maryland
- #22 - Kameron Chatman, Michigan
- #30 - Michal Cekovsky, Maryland
- #39 - Robert Johnson, Indiana
- #50 - Victor Law, Northwestern
It's no surprise that players like Blackmon and Russell top the list, but it's also interesting to see guys like Bekocsky slide in on the list. There are some notable absences like Keita Bates-Diop though. Sports Illustrated also looked at the top projected transfers. Here is who made the cut.
Big Ten Players On Top Projected Transfers
- #25 - Ahmad Starks, Illinois
- #29 - Aaron Cosby, Illinois
- #33 - Bryn Forbes, Michigan State
- #44 - Bishop Daniels, Rutgers
- #50 - Richard Pack, Maryland
- #53 - Jon Octeus, Purdue
- #58 - Anthony Lee, Ohio State
- #63 - Jeremiah Kreisberg, Northwestern
- #91 - Nick Zeisloft, Indiana
- #95 - Moses Ayegba, Nebraska
The Illini clearly have some interesting transfers coming into the program and they have the top two on the transfers list. Sports Illustrated also looked at the efficient high-usage scorers list. Here is who made the cut.
Big Ten Players On Efficient High-Usage Scorers list
- #1 - Frank Kaminsky, Wisconsin
- #6 - Yogi Ferrell, Indiana
- #19 - Myles Mack, Rutgers
Ferrell, Kaminsky, and Mack should certainly be at the top of the conference in terms of usage. Sports Illustrated also ranked the top rebounders. Here is who made the cut.
Big Ten Players On Top Rebounders List
- #9 - AJ Hammons, Purdue
Sports Illustrated also ranked the best players in the nation in terms of assist leaders. The Big Ten has had some great passers over the last few years. Here is who made the cut.
Big Ten Players On Top Assisters List
- #17 - Myles Mack, Rutgers
Overall, the Big Ten had a great number of players make the cut and certainly looks like it could be one of the most star packed conferences in the nation. Not only does the Big Ten boast some of the top returners, but also some of the top incoming recruits and transfers as well. It should be a good year in the Big Ten.