It is officially tip-off time for the 2023-24 College Basketball Season. Start it off by reading my exhaustive Ballot for real awards like 3 All-Big Ten teams, All-Freshman Team, and more. Plus my ballot for fake awards like Hunter Dickinson Award for Most-Hated Player, All-Transfer Team, All-Glue Team among others. Enjoy my manifesto on this season of Big Ten Basketball.
by Jordan Beckley
Everybody stand up, give yourself a round of applause or a pat on the back. Once again we made it through the offseason.
College Basketball returns today and everybody still has hope. Even Minnesota technically!
To honor the start of the season, it’s time to give out all of the fake awards and submit my unofficial preseason ballot for all the real Big Ten awards.
Hopefully, I put your favorite player high enough for you to not think I hate your team.
If you want more coverage about your favorite team, check out our full College Basketball preview where we have a dedicated article previewing every Big Ten team.
To cap off the College Basketball preview we have our awards ballot. Without further ado, let’s pick some winners!
All Big Ten Teams
Too often these preseason polls make 0 inferences about the season and they just elevate the guys from 2nd team last year to be first team players this year.
In the era of transfer portal and with NIL keeping more dudes in college nobody makes enough changes to how the league could go.
So for all of my All-conference teams, I am going to try and adjust what teams will look like with the new transfers and freshmen in an attempt to predict what All-Big Ten looks like by the end of the year, not just what the consensus might be in November.
I whittled all 170+ scholarship hoopers down to 35 players that I think can make the All-Big Ten teams this year. Where I landed was a clear 1st team, a fairly easy 2nd team and an optimistic 3rd team. Let’s discuss hardest cuts than break down each team.
Hardest Cuts
I couldn’t fit AJ Hoggard onto any of my All-Big Ten teams and I know that’s a mistake. I just think Jaden Akins and Tyson Walker are going to score more and that MSU won’t be good enough to get three of the 15 slots. Still, Hoggard might lead the conference in assists and if Michigan State leads the conference in wins at the same time he will find himself on one of the teams.
Plenty of players actually fell into the, “their teammate is better and already on a team” category. Fletcher Loyer and Trey Kaufman-Renn each might be big players for the Boilers but they aren’t making the team with Zach Edey dominating the narrative. Tony Perkins, Coleman Hawkins, Chucky Hepburn and Derek Simpson were all players who shared similar fates as another player was their team’s representative.
Tyler Wahl was a one of the final cuts as I don’t think the super senior’s back to the basket skills will be enough to land him on one of the teams.
I couldn’t find a spot for any of the Ohio State players and part of that was not knowing who the Alpha will be from Chris Holtmann’s team.
Dawson Garcia and Ace Baldwin in all likelihood will be two of the conference’s 15 best players but their teams will be so bad I couldn’t put them on any of the teams.
Here is a sentence for the IU fans to know that I did remember Xavier Johnson is in the Big Ten and I just don’t think he will be an All-Big Ten player.
The true final cut was Keisei Tominaga and boy was that hard. I love the Japanese Steph Curry, but I have a feeling after a large roster refresh that Fred Hoiberg is going to end up having Tominaga be more of a supporting actor than the lead role.
Ok. Let’s dive into the teams. Drum roll………..
1st Team All-Big Ten
- Zach Edey – C – Purdue
- Terrence Shannon Jr – G – Illinois
- Boo Buie – G – Northwestern
- Jahmir Young – G – Maryland
- Tyson Walker – G – Michigan State
Like I said, I ended up with an obvious 1st team. This is pretty much the consensus first team and well that’s for good reason.
Edey is an unstoppable monster, TSJ is a 1st-Team All-American candidate, Buie is awesome and the face of a team nobody hates, and Young and Walker are experienced bucket getters.
If you’re asking me on November 6th pick 2 to be a lock and two that don’t make 1st Team All-Big Ten, I will say Edey and TSJ are locks and that Young and Walker don’t make it.
I can see Walker, Hoggard or Jaden Akins as the 1st team rep for the Spartans. I think Young will end up having the weakest resume of any of the 1st teamers and I will tell you who I think might replace him when we get to 2nd team.
I do not see a version of this season that doesn’t have Edey and TSJ on the first team.
2nd Team All-Big Ten
- Payton Sandfort – W – Iowa
- Aundre Hyatt – F – Rutgers
- Julian Reese – C – Maryland
- Jaden Akins – W – Michigan State
- Braden Smith – G – Purdue
Okay, now we are having fun! None of my 2nd teamers are the same as the preseason poll.
Frankly, it is ridiculous Sandfort isn’t a 2nd Teamer for everybody. I think he is the most likely player to be 1st team of anybody in the conference besides the consensus top 5. Sandfort will be the best player on the Iowa offense and that has usually translated to 1st team status.
Aundre Hyatt is literally just from foreign tour hype and I’m okay with it. I’ve bought all my Hyatt stock, you should too. If he is able to knock down jumpers and attack the rim like he did overseas, then Rutgers might be able to take a big step up offensively. Caleb McConnell and Paul Mulcahy often limited the offense. I’m excited to see Noah Fernandes, Derek Simpson and Hyatt take over.
Julian Reese will fairly easily be the 2nd best big man in the Big Ten. He should be a 15/10/2 type of guy. If Maryland finishes in the top 5 of the conference, that profile will land him a spot on 2nd team.
I’m not sure who will be MSU’s best player! Akins could be it. I’m way too high on him, but his ceiling is so high that this still could be too low. Especially, if the playmaking he hinted at against Tennessee is legit.
Braden Smith will be an All-Big Ten player pretty handily. He will either be one or two in assists per game with Hoggard as the only guy who probably can unseat him. Smith will be the showrunner for the conference’s supposed best team. If his three point shot and pick and roll game improved like it looked in the Arkansas exhibition, there is a timeline where he makes 1st team with Edey. Whether he leads the conference in turnovers too could also effect where he lands.
3rd Team All-Big Ten
- Cliff Omoruyi – C – Rutgers
- Brooks Barnhizer – W – Northwestern
- AJ Storr – G – Wisconsin
- Olivier Nkamhoua – F – Michigan
- Kel’el Ware – C – Indiana
Almost all of these picks are high upside picks. Any of them could finish higher and it’s a fairly good shot 2 or 3 of these don’t actually end up making any team.
I snubbed Omoruyi based on popular opinion. Cliff is an awesome dunker and amazing defender, I just don’t think he will do enough offensively to climb up past third team.
I was toying with picking Barnhizer and then he had 29 pts, 7 reb, 5 stls, 4 asts, and 4 blks in Northwestern’s final preseason game. With Chase Audige gone, the junior wing is due to be a huge breakout this season.
I might singlehandedly be driving the AJ Storr bandwagon forward. All I will say is that Storr has been the leading scorer in literally every offseason scrimmage, exhibition, etc. that the Badgers have taken apart of. His athleticism and scoring punch will be accentuated by the rest of Wisconsin’s offense.
Pencil Nkamouah in for 14 points and 10 boards almost every night. Although, I might be picking the wrong Michigan big man here.
Finally, I have Kel’el Ware as the Hoosier making an All-Big Ten team. It’s hard to know who to pick out of Xavier Johnson, Ware and Mackenzie Mgbako. I decided Ware’s rim running, outside shooting and shot blocking will push him to be the pick from IU. Plus we have a lot more guards than bigs on these teams so yeah.
All Freshman Team
I think this will be a pretty deep freshman class even if it isn’t star studded. Notice none of them made an All-Big Ten team.
I scratched off the entirety of the young guns in the ’23 class down to 16 candidates for my 5 All-Freshman spots.
Again I’m projecting what will happen and based off of some of the exhibitions some of the highest rated freshmen will not be playing the most minutes. Xavier Booker and Myles Colvin are examples.
My hardest cuts were Nolan Winter, Owen Freeman and George Washington III.
Winter has been a revelation so far in the preseason games for Wisconsin and it seems like he will immediately be a productive big off the bench. Could he maybe even usurp Crowl in certain games if his stroke is as pure as it looks? Probably not and that is part of why he didn’t make the squad.
Freeman will be one of the most productive players of the class in their first year. The Iowa big will likely grab a ton of rebounds and score a good handful of points given their pace. I just didn’t think he will do more than the guys ahead of him.
The last couple spots came down to guys that will either be great rotational pieces or players that will be scorers. It is really hard to project what freshman will score more than other freshman. I decided to make George Washington III my last cut. I wouldn’t be shocked if he ended up as Freshman of the Year.
Anyways here is my All Freshman Team:
- Mackenzie Mgbako – F – Indiana
- Deshawn Harris-Smith – G – Maryland
- Scotty Middleton – G – Ohio State
- Eli Rice – W – Nebraska
- Gavin Griffiths – W – Rutgers
Deshawn Harris-Smith is the early favorite to be the leading scorer of this group as DHS is slotted to start next to Jahmir Young in the Terps’ backcourt. In fact the common thread of all these players is that they are all likely to start and that is a driving force on why I picked them to be on the All-Freshman Team.
Eli Rice seems to have already proven to be underranked. Rice has incredible size and quite the blend of skills to go with it. He might be another McGowens type of surprise pro for Hoiberg in Lincoln.
I personally am higher on Taison Chatman for OSU, but he will miss the start of the season with an injury. Middleton is a guy who can do everything and it will be excited what all he will do for Coach Holtmann.
Gavin Griffiths could be this year’s Cam Spencer and that will be good enough for him to make the All-Freshman Team.
Finally, my Freshman of the Year is Mackenzie Mgbako. Mgbako is probably going to be the highest drafted player from the conference and his unique build at 6’8″ 210 and to shoot like he can will be enough to make the NBA. However, what could really separate Mgbako is his defense and if he succeeds at the 3. Coach Woodson is starting him, Malik Reneau and Kel’el Ware together. Those three could form a fearsome front line defensively and if Mgbako does succeed at his size at the 3 both offensively and defensively people will be enamored with him.
All Transfer Team
For my imaginary All-Transfer Team, I eliminated intra-conference transfer Jamison Battle because everybody knows him from Minnesota. I didn’t think Jordan Geronimo was close enough to the top 5.
I chopped the list down to 13 other candidates to settle on one 5-man team.
The Gopher guards of Mike Mitchell Jr and Elijah Hawkins were cut as I think they cannibalize their own stats and because Minnesota won’t have enough to warrant them being selected.
Some cuts like Noah Fernandes, Dale Bonner and Marcus Domask will be great contributors but probably will be more supporting than the five I settled on.
The hardest cuts were starters that I couldn’t project enough points or wins on to justify their nominations. That cut out Rienk Mast at Nebraska, Ben Krikke at Iowa and Ryan Langborg at Northwestern.
All Transfer Team
- AJ Storr – G – Wisconsin
- Ace Baldwin – G – Penn State
- Brice Williams – W – Nebraska
- Olivier Nkamhoua – F – Michigan
- Kel’el Ware – C – Indiana
So if you are on my All-Big Ten teams you have to make the All Transfer team. Slot in Storr, Nkamhoua and Ware.
Baldwin got punished on the All-Big Ten selections for the presumed losses that the Nittany Lions will have in year one under Mike Rhoades. He won’t be punished here. Baldwin will be one of the best lead guards as a scorer and passer in the conference.
Finally, Brice Williams is one of the candidates to be the leading scorer for Nebraska. The Huskers really could go a million different ways this year, but I think Williams will be a stud for them no matter what.
All Defense Team
Ok, let’s start rolling through some of these picks now.
I don’t have hardest cuts because I didn’t waste too much time trying to predict the best defenders in the conference. Some honorable mentions are Matt Nicholson, Felix Okpara, Zach Edey, Terrence Shannon Jr and whoever else you think deserves to be in the conversation.
Here is my intensely researched All-Defense Team:
- Justin Harmon – G – Illinois
- Nimari Burnett – G – Michigan
- Aundre Hyatt – F – Rutgers
- Cliff Omoruyi – C – Rutgers
- Kel’el Ware – C – Indiana
We have three transfers and two Rutgers players making up the All-Defense team. Justin Harmon harasses his man and looks like he is going to try to earn his minutes on defense.
I can already visualize the play that Nimari Burnett makes in the closing possession of a tight game to seal a victory.
Hyatt is quite easily the most underrated player coming into the season and I think I have to legally put two Rutgers players on the All-Defensive team.
Cliff Omoruyi could suck all season and he would probably be an auto-bid on the All-Defense team.
And that leaves me with my…
Defensive POY
I have Kel’el Ware as my DPOY. The Hoosiers should be a favorite to be the best defense in the Big Ten, but I think they could be one of the best in the country if it all works out for them. Xavier Johnson, Trey Galloway, Mgbako, Malik Reneau and Ware is a terrifying starting 5.
Ware will be the one who likely gets the most credit for the success. He will grab a bunch of boards, get the tough big man assignments and lead the team and maybe the conference in blocks. This bet is just as much on Indiana as a whole as it is for Ware.
COY for Overachieving Team
Coach of the Year rarely goes to the guy who won the conference. It is almost always given to a coach who was buried in the preseason poll and then overachieved based on that prediction. Case in point Coach Collins for Northwestern last year.
So who are the Coaching candidates for overachieving teams this season?
Fran McCaffery at Iowa is an interesting option, but might be too high in the preseason poll. Same goes for Coach Gard at Wisconsin, but the narrative of him going from 13th in the conference to top 4 again might be good enough? The better from-bottom-to-top story would likely be Chris Holtmann especially if it’s because he developed guys as opposed to keeping seniors like Gard.
My guess at ‘overachieving” coach of the year will be Steve Pikiell and Rutgers. The Scarlet Knights fell apart at the end of last season and missed March Madness. I think if Pikiell gets what is considered right now to be a less talented roster to the Tourney again and is in the top 6 or so in the Big Ten there are plenty of media friendlies who will push for COY Pikiell.
Coach Who Should Actually Win It
There is simply no reason why Matt Painter, Tom Izzo and Brad Underwood shouldn’t win this award most years.
Yet, Painter hasn’t won it since 2019, Izzo hasn’t won it in over a decade and somehow Brad Underwood has never won it.
I think they should give it to the conference winner more often than not, but my pick this year is Underwood. Let’s get him a ring or whatever trophy for it. I think Illinois could be awesome this year and it will be a good job of turning it around from last year’s confusing season.
Regardless, those three coaches are a tier above the rest of the conference and I think should be recognized as so.
Offense of the Year
Honestly, it is sacrilege to pick any team but Iowa for Offense of the Year in the Big Ten.
However, I like what Nebraska, Ohio State and Michigan State have cooking and might be able to pull off an upset. Nebraska’s positionless gamble could have a big payout. Ohio State is a slumbering Kenpom darling with shiny new toys. The Spartans have some of the best scorers in the country and if they abandon defense a bit could outscore Iowa.
Of course you also have the incredibly efficient Purdue/Zach Edey machine, but that’s no fun.
Give me Iowa and Payton Sandfort averaging 28 a game!
Defense of the Year
I already gushed about the potential of Indiana’s defense.
Don’t underestimate Maryland and Northwestern hanging their hats on defense though. Maryland found an identity on that end last year. Will they be the same with the freshmen they brought in replacing rugged experienced dudes like Hakim Hart and Don Carey?
What about Rutgers? Pikiell regularly produces one of the best defenses in the conference. Plus a frontline of Hyatt, Mawot Mag and Omoruyi will be incredibly difficult to navigate.
However, my official pick will be Northwestern. I think the Wildcats offense will be a little better this year, I think they will try their hardest to beat their opponent to death with their own bricks. Matt Nicholson is an oversight for All-Defense, but I needed some guards and not just 5 bigs.
All Glue Team
Another name for this team is ‘Players who start on good teams but don’t score much’ Team. But All Glue Team has a better ring to it doesn’t it!
I don’t have much to say on these guys but to just reveal who I picked. If your favorite role player didn’t make the cut, find something else to be angry about!
- Trey Galloway – G – Indiana
- Mason Gillis – F – Purdue
- Coleman Hawkins – F – Illinois
- Tony Perkins – G – Iowa
- Don Carey – F – Maryland
Sixth Man of the Year
I don’t have strong opinions on Sixth Man of the Year when it comes to College players, because honestly sixth men in college aren’t very good!
Still there are a couple that will be competing for this award. If Malik Hall gets relegated to the bench in East Lansing he will be a prime candidate. Dain Dainja will be the winner of this if it was given out by heat check hotness, but the Dainja Zone likely will be too inconsistent to actually win it.
My pick for 6th Man of the Year is Connor Essegian. He should be the right mix of scoring, team success, and heavy minutes to win the award. I’m a little surprised that Essegian was the one squeezed out of the starting spots between him, Max Klesmit and Storr. Still, Essegian will have plenty of opportunity for the Badgers and as one of the best shooters in the conference he will likely be the focus of the offense when he enters the game in support.
Honorary Hunter Dickinson Award for Most Hated Player
We have several candidates for the most coveted award on the ballot.
Zach Edey might be the default answer before giving it any thought. No matter how frustrating and impossible to stop Edey is, he is not cocky. To win the Hunter Dickinson Most Hated Player award you must be both very good and very cocky. Edey has too much of a low volume All-business approach to be the most hated.
Guys like Terrence Shannon Jr. and Boo Buie are good enough to be hated, but are either too cool (TSJ) or on a team that nobody hates (Buie).
Tyler Wahl has quite the resume for the award. He has the punchable face, the frustrating ‘why can’t we stop’ him type of game, the good haircut and definitely cocky and celebratory. He might be the most hated player for Iowa fans but maybe not the whole conference.
Guys like Braden Smith and Brooks Barnhizer have the ‘good white guy’ look like Wahl that puts an immediate target on their back. Smith especially loves to drop sky high alley oops to Edey and primal scream a lot during timeouts. He also gets at least one shot blocked into the stands a game giving fans ammunition to yell about how small he is.
My final pick on who it will be by the end of the season is Coleman Hawkins. Whether it’s the haircut, the braces, the celebrations, the fact that he’s good but not that good, Hawkins is a perfect Hunter Dickinson award winner.
We will be doing check-ins on the Honorary Hunter Dickinson Award as the season rolls on.
Big Ten Player of the Year
Thank you for reading this far.
Although this is the most prestigious award, it is also the least exciting prediction as there is no reason to think Zach Edey won’t repeat.
But… I have Terrence Shannon Jr, voter fatigue and the Illini shocking the world and… stealing a handful of votes from the Big Maple.
Edey to repeat.
That’s it folks! Can’t wait to revisit this at the end of the season. Remember nobody is allowed to change their ballot at any point in the year! Bookmark this page and call me out in 4 months for being wrong!