10 storylines to watch ahead of Big Ten basketball media days
By John Fanta
FOX Sports College Basketball Writer
We’ve hit media days season on the countdown to the 2022-23 college basketball season, and the Big Ten programs take center stage at the Target Center in Minneapolis on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The lead storyline in the conference heading into the season comes from Bloomington, as Mike Woodson enters his second season at the helm with a loaded Indiana team projected to be at the top of the league. That theme followed suit in the release of the preseason All-Big Ten team on Thursday, as Hoosiers senior forward Trayce Jackson-Davis was named Player of the Year. The 6-foot-9 Indiana native is back for another ride at Assembly Hall after testing the NBA Draft waters and comes off a season that saw him average 18.3 points and 8.1 rebounds per game while guiding the Hoosiers to the NCAA Tournament.
The other takeaway from the preseason selections? Returning big men headline the league, just as they do in the rest of college basketball entering this season. Michigan’s Hunter Dickinson and Purdue’s Zach Edey joined Jackson-Davis as the only unanimous selections.
With media days on the horizon, what are some of the top storylines that provide intrigue around the conference? We go rapid-fire with a list of 10 topics on the Big Ten.
[Who will be at Big Ten Media Days?]
We know Dickinson will lead Michigan. But what about the Wolverines’ backcourt? Could this team be getting overlooked nationally?
Juwan Howard has led his program to back-to-back trips to the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament, with an Elite Eight in 2021 followed by a Sweet 16 last season. With Dickinson back, the Wolverines could certainly make a March run again, but many preseason projections have them as a fringe AP Top 25 team.
The key in Ann Arbor is what happens in the backcourt with Eli Brooks and DeVante Jones gone. Princeton transfer Jaelin Llewellyn should occupy a starting role, and there is serious buzz surrounding four-star freshman wing Jett Howard. Both of the Wolverines’ newest options on the perimeter will join Dickinson to meet the press, and it will be interesting to see how things are faring for a program that’s been so consistent in recent years but might be getting underrated across the country.
How’s small ball working for Tom Izzo, and what’s the latest with Jaden Akins?
For Michigan State, playing a traditional center has been the normal practice over the years, but the Hall of Famer on the sideline is going to have to change the look of the Spartans based on his personnel. While Mady Sissoko is back and freshman Jaxon Kohler looks promising, Michigan State’s best lineup looks more like Malik Hall at the four and Joey Hauser at the five.
For a team that lost its top three scorers from last season — Gabe Brown, Max Christie and Marcus Bingham Jr., the preseason goal for the Spartans has been to develop some leaders. Izzo has said that junior AJ Hoggard, who led Michigan State with 174 assists last year, could take on the alpha role. Northeastern transfer Tyson Walker also had a strong summer.
It will be interesting to hear from Spartan players on a potentially different, smaller look for them this season, and an update on sophomore guard Akins is also newsworthy. Akins is scheduled to appear at media day, and Izzo has said he could have a breakout season after averaging just 3.4 points per game as a freshman. Akins is currently recovering from a foot injury, but Izzo told reporters this past week that he’s making progress. There’s an expectation that he’ll be back soon and will be ready to go for the season. We’ll get to hear from Akins in Minneapolis.
Illinois crushed the transfer portal. What are the expectations from the minds of the newcomers?
The Fighting Illini lost their top five scorers from last year’s team. Wild, right? Well, while that left Brad Underwood and his staff with a difficult task, Illinois brought in two of the biggest names in the portal in Terrence Shannon Jr. (Texas Tech) and Matthew Mayer (Baylor), both of whom will be on hand at media day.
The other player representative for the Illini, Coleman Hawkins, is a key returnee and could very well be the starting center as life without All-American Kofi Cockburn begins. It will be intriguing to hear from Shannon and Mayer what they saw in the Illini, who have gone 68-27 combined over the last three seasons, and to hear from the trio on the addition of the nation’s seventh-ranked recruiting class according to 247 Sports.
Guards Skyy Clark and Ty Rodgers are receiving significant buzz heading into the season and could be candidates to start, and it’s always noteworthy to hear from veteran players about how freshmen have come into the program.
The Buckeyes have a whole new look
Ohio State went through an offseason of big change, with seven of the top eight scorers from last year’s team departing. That said, Chris Holtmann and his staff ushered in the eighth-best recruiting class in the country, according to 247 Sports, with five of the eight newcomers to the roster being freshmen. It’s going to be intriguing to see just what four-star prospects Roddy Gayle Jr., Bruce Thornton, Felix Okpara and Brice Sensabaugh do in their first season in Columbus, as there are minutes to be had with the scarlet and gray.
In terms of a storyline entering media day, it will be interesting to hear from fifth-year senior wing Justice Sueing, who missed all but two games last year with an abdominal injury. Holtmann has said that Sueing, who transferred from Cal, is a needed presence, but health is obviously a key variable. The 6-foot-7 Sueing will join returning standout Zed Key and Oklahoma State transfer Isaac Likekele as the Buckeye representatives.
Holtmann has called it an offseason unlike any he’s ever been a part of, so we’ll look to take a deeper dive on what that looked like with the OSU players.
From one brother to another: The Hawkeyes count on Kris Murray
A member of the All-Big Ten Preseason Team, the hype is building for 6-foot-8 Hawkeyes junior Murray ahead of his third season under Fran McCaffery. The younger brother of Keegan Murray, who was drafted fourth overall last June, there’s a wide belief in Iowa City that Kris could take off as the star in a passing of the torch from his older brother. Last year, the younger Murray averaged 9.7 points and 4.3 boards per game on 48% from the floor.
Iowa also has Connor and Patrick McCaffery back, while junior guard Tony Perkins will look to take another leap. An X-factor could very well be sophomore sharpshooter Payton Sandfort.
The overarching point? The Hawkeyes still have some pieces, and McCaffery has shown throughout recent years that he knows how to reload. How is the younger Murray handling everything? We look forward to catching up with him.
There’s only one Big Ten team with multiple preseason all-conference selections: Wisconsin
I would not have guessed that there would only be one team with multiple honorees on the All-Big Ten preseason team, and it certainly stands out that it’s Wisconsin that carries that distinction. Why? Because projections suggest that Greg Gard and the Badgers could take a step back this season after Johnny Davis went No. 10 overall to the Wizards in the NBA Draft.
Coming off a 25-8 campaign that saw the Badgers make it to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, Wisconsin still returns the dynamic duo of senior forward Tyler Wahl and sophomore guard Chucky Hepburn.
In the backcourt, it’s Hepburn’s show to run. Just how big a leap the 6-foot-2 Omaha native makes could be the biggest factor in determining the Badgers’ ceiling this year. He averaged 7.9 points, 2.3 assists and 2.2 boards per game in his first season, certainly nothing to write home about in a loaded Big Ten.
Excluding the NCAA Tournament loss to Colgate, Hepburn averaged 11.4 points per game in the five previous contests, taking on an increased scoring role and really coming into this own. How does he feel about taking on more of a lead role for this team? We’ll ask him just that in Minneapolis.
Could Rutgers go back-to-back-to-back on the big dance floor?
The Scarlet Knights have never reached the NCAA Tournament in three consecutive seasons, but that’s certainly the goal for seventh-year coach Steve Pikiell, who has done an amazing job building Rutgers up as a winner.
The Scarlet Knights said goodbye to Geo Baker and Ron Harper Jr., who put the program back on the map, but junior center Cliff Omoruyi looks poised for a big season after averaging 11.9 points and 7.8 boards per game as a sophomore. I would venture to say Omoruyi is one of the most underrated players in the country.
The key questions lie in the backcourt. Can RU develop consistency on the offensive end with its guards? It’s on seniors Caleb McConnell and Paul Mulcahy to lead the way. There’s no question about the way Pikiell’s team will guard. McConnell is the reigning Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year for a reason. We’ll be hitting on how the Scarlet Knights plan to achieve success with a different-looking roster.
How will the Boilermaker guards fare in the post-Ivey era?
Jaden Ivey was a generational talent in West Lafayette, and the results of that came on draft night when he went No. 5 overall to the Detroit Pistons.
That leaves an obvious hole to fill for coaching great Matt Painter, but the expectation is still in place that the Boilers can be a top-25 squad in the coming year. That will come down to what Utah transfer David Jenkins and returnees Brandon Newman and Ethan Morton do on the perimeter in the coming season.
The clear headliner is Edey, who’s one of the most fun players to watch in the country with his 7-foot-4, 295-pound frame. What’s in store for the Toronto native after he posted 14.4 points and 7.7 boards per game as a sophomore? He’ll be on the ground talking to the media in Minneapolis on Tuesday.
Will Maryland begin a turnaround under new coach Kevin Willard?
Willard proved himself a consistent winner at a difficult place to do so, Seton Hall. The Terrapins noticed and are betting on him to put a once proud program back on the map.
It’s difficult to get a firm gauge on what the Terps will be in Willard’s first season at the helm, but star forward Donta Scott is back for his senior year, while Charlotte transfer guard Jahmir Young, who averaged nearly 20 PPG last season, enters the program and will play a significant role.
There’s no question that Maryland basketball is in a position to ascend in future seasons with recruiting momentum in place, but what should we expect from this new-look program in Willard’s first campaign? We’ll attempt to answer that question and explore how a new era is taking shape in College Park.
The Indiana Hoosiers are projected at the top of the league. How are they handling the hype machine?
Don’t worry, Hoosier fans. We saved the best for last, although a portion of you may have been upset not seeing your team a few storylines in. We’ll check our Twitter mentions — just kidding, we love you.
Passion and fervor surrounding Indiana basketball are always present, but with high expectations in place heading into Mike Woodson’s second season at the helm, the roof could pop off Assembly Hall.
Indiana brings back four of its five starters and ushers in the nation’s 11th-ranked recruiting class, according to 247 Sports. The return of Jackson-Davis, the first Hoosier to win Big Ten Preseason Player of the Year since Cody Zeller in 2012, serves as the headliner for a group stacked with experience and talent.
At any media day, one of the most intriguing storylines is how the team at the top of the league handles the expectations. Are the Hoosiers embracing the buzz, or are they taking on a different approach with the target on their backs? We shall see.
Read more:
- 40 storylines to watch as the 2022-23 season approaches
- Counting down the top 15 teams: Indiana at No. 13
- Q&A with Illinois head coach Brad Underwood
- Michigan State's Tom Izzo is a constant in this era of change
John Fanta is a national college basketball broadcaster and writer for FOX Sports. He covers the sport in a variety of capacities, from calling games on FS1 to serving as lead host on the BIG EAST Digital Network to providing commentary on The Field of 68 Media Network. Follow him on Twitter @John_Fanta.
