2022-23 All-Big Ten Player Prediction Extravaganza
- sedlecky0
- Nov 7, 2022
- 5 min read
In complete transparency, the single biggest reason I decided to start a blog in the year 2022 is to (selfishly and hopefully) never again miss an opportunity to brag. You see, dearest reader, that last year I made a prediction (or two, depending on how you look at it) that I will likely never top for the rest of my days as a college basketball fanatic. Nearly the whole of the college basketball world – across big-name national and regional sites like The Athletic and the Indy Star to hyper-focused Big Ten blogs – had fairly uniform selections for its First Team All-Big Ten preseason picks, with Kofi Cockburn, E.J. Liddell, Hunter Dickinson, Jaden Ivey, and Trayce Jackson-Davis garnering the vast majority of votes. A scattering of brave souls selected Trevion Williams of Purdue, Eric Ayala of Maryland, and Andre Curbelo of Illinois to their top teams as well.
But my First Team All-Big Ten predictions, you ask? Kofi Cockburn, Hunter Dickinson, Jaden Ivey, Keegan Murray, and Jonathan Davis. Now, my predictions were not perfect, as E.J. Liddell ended up being selected to the First Team by both the conference’s coaches and media voting panel in place of Hunter Dickinson, who started the season much slower than anticipated, but I will never cease to tout my last two First Team selections. Taking Keegan Murray on my preseason First Team, while certainly a vote of confidence in the gangly Iowa rising sophomore, was not so bizarre that it would have had coaches and journalists questioning my knowledge of college basketball; Murray was, after all, a relatively common Second or Third team selection and had started generating buzz in some NBA scouting circles while coming off the bench for Fran McCaffery as a freshman. I’m certain that selecting Jonathan Davis of Wisconsin to my First Team, on the other hand, would have gotten me kicked out of Big Ten Media Day altogether. To emphasize just how off-the-wall that prediction was is difficult, but for starter’s, the man still went by Jonathan when I was making my picks! The rest, of course, is in the history books – following a breakout second season that saw Johnny Davis lead the Wisconsin Badgers to a most surprising share of the regular season conference title, the La Crosse, Wisconsin native was selected as the Big Ten Player of the Year by both the coaches and media before darting to the NBA Draft, where he was selected 10th overall by the Washington Wizards.
This, to me, is what makes college basketball so special. Two players who were not viewed as big-time prospects and came off the bench nearly the entirety of their respective freshmen seasons earned the respect and recognition of everyone by dedicating themselves to the craft. Keegan Murray and Johnny Davis could have complained about a lack of playing time, but instead they chose to learn, to focus, and to grow their games on the court. Today, each of them is making more money in a year than many of us will see in a lifetime, and it was an absolute thrill watching their hard work pay off.
Should you try to audit my claim above, however, I would have little ability to back it up beyond my word and the word of my fellow basketball-crazed college friends for the time being. My 2021-22 All-Big Ten predictions do exist in the digital world, but they are buried somewhere deep within a Survey Monkey on my friend Nick’s account, and he may be holding out for an untold sum in order to divert some of his precious time and attention away from his lovely wife and two young sons before I can finally produce the evidence.
All of this is not to say that I am a savant at precisely predicting which young college basketball players will blossom into stars, but from now on, I’ll at least get to gloat or eat crow in the public eye. And for each Johnny Davis, Keegan Murray, and Christian Braun I was in on before it was cool, there will always be some facepalm-worthy (mostly Michigan-centric) predictions I’ve made in the past, like when I bet my brother that Carlton Brundidge would have a more successful college career than one Trey Burke, or when I asserted to my college friends that Mark Donnal was a star in the making, or that time I thought Blake McLimans would be John Beilein’s new Kevin Pittsnogle. I still cringe thinking about these calls, and many more.
Regardless, a new season is excitingly upon us, and it is now time before games officially tip off tonight to lay out my predictions for all to see. This year, I’ve decided to make two sets of All-Big Ten team predictions, with the first set ranking players by position (as if to form conference dream teams) and the second set ranking players simply in order of how good I believe they will be, position be damned. Each set of selections contains five-player First through Third team picks with five additional players slotted as Honorable Mentions for good measure. I’ve also included my (admittedly less confident) All-Big Ten Freshmen, Sophomore, and 1st Year Transfer selections. While it’s pretty typical to see All-Freshmen Team predictions, I wanted to include Sophomore and Transfer teams as well to point out players who might be a bit lesser-known coming into the season but who could have a big impact…and who knows, perhaps one of these sophomores emerges onto the scene a la Murray, Davis, or Ivey of yesteryear!
2022-23 All-Big Ten Predictions (By Position)
1st Team
1/PG – AJ Hoggard, Michigan State (Junior)
2/SG – Terrence Shannon Jr., Illinois (Senior)
3/SF – Patrick McCaffery, Iowa (RS Junior)
4/PF – Jamison Battle, Minnesota (Senior)
5/C – Hunter Dickinson, Michigan (Junior)
2nd Team
1/PG – Chucky Hepburn, Wisconsin (Sophomore)
2/SG – Sean McNeil, Ohio State (Senior)
3/SF – Hakim Hart, Maryland (Senior)
4/PF – Kris Murray, Iowa (Junior)
5/C – Zach Edey, Purdue (Junior)
3rd Team
1/PG – Xavier Johnson, Indiana (5th year)
2/SG – Tyson Walker, Michigan State (Senior)
3/SF – Jalen Pickett, Penn State (5th year)
4/PF – Mason Gillis, Purdue (Junior)
5/C – Trayce Jackson-Davis, Indiana (Senior)
Honorable Mention
1/PG – Jaelin Llewellyn, Michigan (5th year)
2/SG – Kobe Bufkin, Michigan (Sophomore)
3/SF – Caleb McConnell, Rutgers (5th year)
4/PF – Matthew Mayer, Illinois (5th year)
5/C – Cliff Omoruyi, Rutgers (Junior)
2022-23 All-Big Ten Predictions (Position-less)
1st Team
Hunter Dickinson, Michigan (Junior) (Player of the Year)
Zach Edey, Purdue (Junior)
Trayce Jackson-Davis, Indiana (Senior)
Terrence Shannon Jr., Illinois (Senior)
A.J. Hoggard, Michigan State (Junior)
2nd Team
Chucky Hepburn, Wisconsin (Sophomore)
Sean McNeil, Ohio State (Senior)
Cliff Omoruyi, Rutgers (Junior)
Patrick McCaffery, Iowa (RS Junior)
Jamison Battle, Minnesota (Senior)
3rd Team
Kris Murray, Iowa (Junior)
Hakim Hart, Maryland (Senior)
Jalen Pickett, Penn State (5th year)
Mason Gillis, Purdue (Junior)
Zed Key, Ohio State (Junior)
Honorable Mention
Xavier Johnson, Indiana (5th year)
Kobe Bufkin, Michigan (Sophomore)
Caleb McConnell, Rutgers (5th year)
Matthew Mayer, Illinois (5th year)
Tyson Walker, Michigan State (Senior)
2022-23 All-Big Ten Predictions (Freshmen)
Jalen-Hood Schifino, Indiana (Freshman of the Year)
Jett Howard, Michigan
Bruce Thornton, Ohio State
Skyy Clark, Illinois
Brice Sensabaugh, Ohio State
2022-23 All-Big Ten Predictions (Sophomores)
Chucky Hepburn, Wisconsin
Kobe Bufkin, Michigan
Jaden Akins, Michigan State
Tamar Bates, Indiana
RJ Melendez, Illinois
2022-23 All-Big Ten Predictions (1st Year Transfers)
Terrence Shannon Jr., Illinois (Texas Tech)
Sean McNeil, Ohio State (West Virginia)
Jaelin Llewellyn, Michigan (Princeton)
Matthew Mayer, Illinois (Baylor)
Jahmir Young, Maryland (Charlotte)
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