The Big Ten Conference was all over ESPN’s recent list of the top 25 players in the country for 2020-2021. ESPN insider John Gasaway had two Big Ten ballers in his top 10, including Iowa Hawkeye star Luka Garza ranked as the top player in the country.
Garza was neck-and-neck with Dayton star Obi Toppin for the Wooden Player of the Year Award, ultimately losing out to Toppin for college basketball’s top honor. The Hawkeye big man averaged 23.9 points per contest to go along with 9.8 rebounds last season.
Illinois guard Ayo Dosunmu was ranked as the eighth-best player, although the Illini star still has to answer the questions that the NBA Draft is asking. Dosunmu has yet to verbally say he is staying for his junior season, and his teammate Kofi Cockburn just announced his decision to declare for the NBA Draft.
The Badger that was included in the list was not Wisconsin’s leading scorer Nate Reuvers, but instead Big Ten sixth man of the year snub Micah Potter. The Ohio native was ranked as the 18th-best player in college basketball for next season. Potter averaged 10.1 points per game and 6.2 rebounds this past year after making his Badger debut in December. The Ohio State transfer will be a major piece for a 2020-21 Badger squad that has Final Four aspirations. ESPN sees him as the best returning Badger next season on a squad that returns 88% of their minutes from this past year.