Four B1G players make Jon Rothstein's '15 players who will become stars' list
On College Hoops Today, college basketball insider Jon Rothstein compiled a list of who he thinks will be ‘stars’ this upcoming season, 4 of them being B1G players.
College basketball will be here shortly and well, Rothstein has his picks for the top players coming up.
Purdue’s Zach Edey, Rutgers’ Cliff Omoruyi, Illinois’ Coleman Hawkins and Iowa’s Kris Murray all made this esteemed preseason list.
Rothstein perceives 7-foot-4 Edey as producing critical offensive strategy in the half-court since Trevion Williams is no longer in the Boilermakers’ program. Edey averaged a total of 14.4 points and 7.7 rebounds in just 19 minutes last season, with shooting under 65 percent from the field.
Rutgers’ Omoruyi could be a solid replacement for Geo Baker and Ron Harper Jr. The 6-foot-11 center in his last season as a sophomore averaged 11.9 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks. He’s got even more potential heading into his junior season.
Coleman Hawkins could certainly make moves for the Illini. Hawkins, a 6-foot-10 forward averaged 5.9 points and 4.3 rebounds next to Kofi Cockburn. But, with Cockburn no longer in Champaign, Hawkins could strengthen the offense even more in his absence.
Iowa’s 6-foot-8 Murray will be another B1G player to keep an eye on this season. Last season in games that Murray played longer than 25 minutes, he averaged a solid 15.8 points and 6.6 rebounds.
So, all in all, the Big Ten has some pretty solid players that could make even bigger moves in the 2022-23 basketball season.