14 new players who could shape the seasons of 10 Big Ten teams.
by Jordan Beckley
We are plowing through our October Preview for the 2024-25 CBB season. Last week, I wondered aloud on One Big Question for Every Big Ten team. This week I wanted to introduce you (the casual fan) to the names that you will need to know this season.
Last year, I broke down every Freshman coming into the Big Ten. Well, over half of those players are not on the same team this year. Instead of wasting my time breaking down players who likely won’t play, I’m pivoting to the most impactful newcomers (both Freshman & transfers).
These 14 players ultimately could decide their program’s season. Fans will either say, “wow, money well spent” or can’t believe the bill they paid for that performance. I won’t play the auditor of the NIL money yet, but it’s safe to say that the locked-in fans have sky-high expectations for all of these hyped players.
Some of these names you might know, others you might not, but by the end of the season you will know all of them. So, stop in and learn some fun facts to rip-off to your friends about where that guy came from when they don’t know at a game later this year.
Ace Bailey & Dylan Harper (Rutgers)
There is only one place to start with Need to Know Newcomers in the Big Ten and that is in New Jersey. The hype train has been gaining steam for well over a year as Rutgers fans had apathy towards last year’s miserable year knowing that this one with Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper was on the horizon.
Airious “Ace” Bailey is a 5-Star forward out of McEachern High School where he played with sophomore Scarlet Knight Jamichael Davis. Coach Pikiell was able to bring both of them northeast to Jersey and play for him. Bailey is the no.2 ranked recruit in the country blending a terrific bit of scoring and ball skills with a 6’10” 200lb frame that makes NBA scouts drool. Bailey averaged 33.4 points, 15.5 rebounds 2.1 blocks and 3.9 assists as a senior on his way to a Class A State Title and being Georgia’s Gatorade Player of the Year.
Dylan Harper is another 5-Star recruit and the New Jersey native has deep ties to the program being the younger brother of former All-Big Ten performer Ron Harper Jr. Younger brother Dylan won’t have as long as a stay as Ron Jr. being a top NBA prospect. The 6’6″ 215 guard is imposing bullying his way to the rim consistently while having a nifty array of finishes once there. The lefty is comfortable taking way-out-there threes and has good passing vision to round himself out as a prospect. Harper has won MVPs at several high profile events with other top prospects including the McDonald’s All-American game.
The one year lease of these two on the wings will be fascinating to watch all season, but how good will Rutgers be? If the Scarlet Knights had Kentucky or Duke on their jerseys they would be a staple in the Top-15 preseason rankings. Instead, Rutgers is a pity add near the end to talk about these two. It could be fair given the unknown for Coach Pikiell. Besides Bailey and Harper we don’t know for sure who will start. Cliff Omoruyi is gone and their defensive identity might not be the same without him.
But no matter how good the team is or can be… eyes will be on Jersey Mike’s Arena and this Rutgers team. Bailey and Harper will be names discussed by Big Ten fans, NBA fans alike and perhaps no Big Ten team has the ceiling Rutgers does if they can acclimate to College Basketball faster than average recruits.
Great Osobor (Washington)
From fantastic Freshmen to proven upperclassmen, there are plenty of different top CBB players coming to the Big Ten this year.
Osobor is the most productive college player on this list. Osobor has followed Danny Sprinkle to now three different colleges in three different states. Last season, he elevated from Big Sky 6th Man of the Year at Montana State to become the 2023-24 Mountain West Player of the Year at Utah State. Osobor averaged 17.7pts, 9rbs, 2.8ast, & 2.7 stocks a game in his first full year as a starter. He and Sprinkle lead Utah State back to the NCAA tournament after a complete roster rebuild and even won the competitive Mountain West regular season Title.
The 6’8″ 245lb forward is a tweener of a Forward/Center that might need some role definition in the Big Ten. The Aggies and Osobor did run into a road block in Zach Edey and Purdue and were obliterated by the Boilers in their Round of 32 exit. Osobor did everything well last year, rebound, defend, pass, shoot everything. How well can he do that against Big Ten big men? Can he drag a work-in-progress roster of Huskies to be a bubble team? Osobor will have a great burden on his back, but if your team loses to Washington this year it will be because of him.
Vlad Goldin (Michigan)
The Dusty May era is just beginning in Ann Arbor and some people are already a bit too excited about it.
I still can’t believe that the Athletic put this Michigan team 4th(!) in their preseason power rankings of the conference. That rose-tinted view of the Wolverines is predicated on Florida Atlantic transfer Vladislav Goldin being an All-Big Ten performer this year.
Goldin was a truly ultra-efficient big for May in Boca Raton the past few years. He posted a ludicrous Player Efficiency Rating of 31.3 last year showing a mastering of his role in the offense. Goldin plays good defense, rebounds very well, sets lane opening screens for his guards and finishes everything around the rim at 67.3 FG%. Goldin doesn’t try to take long range jumpers or dribble around. He’s a perfect post up player (91st percentile in points per possession) and an excellent one-to-two dribble big on diving rolls (1.22ppp, 71st percentile). He averaged 15.7ppg, 6.9rpg and 1.6bpg in just 25 minutes a game as an Owl last year good enough to be 2nd Team All-American Athletic Conference.
There are obvious questions going into this season. How will Goldin fare posting up Big Ten level centers? Will he be able to play more minutes for Michigan if they play a slower pace than FAU’s highway getaway fast pace? How will he do when the guys driving off his pics aren’t Johnell Davis & Alijah Martin but instead Nimari Burnett & Roddy Gayle?
I have so many questions about Michigan this year and none of them are concerned about Goldin not being good. He’s still going to score at a high clip near the rim. He will still be a great rebounder and defender. He will still know who he is and won’t be forcing anything.
Now, whether I believe people need to temper expectations for a Michigan team returning just two players from a 8-24 season is a different story. But Goldin will be a good and potentially great player other Big Ten teams will hate to play against.
Frankie Fidler (Michigan State)
You might have heard of all of the guys so far, but unless you’ve been locked into Omaha basketball or Michigan State recruiting you probably don’t know who Frankie Fidler is.
Fidler is a 6’7″ forward from Bellevue, Nebraska who already has 3000 career points to his name. Fidler has started 91 games at Omaha, but hasn’t played in an NCAA tournament yet. That’s why he’s in East Lansing; to win. He isn’t going to average 20+ points against Big Ten competition in a reduced role, but he will be a factor for Tom Izzo.
Fidler is a perfect Izzo small ball forward. He finishes well at the rim (60%) as a confident ball handler, stretches the floor with long range shooting (35.6% on 4.4 attempts), and makes good decisions with a 16% assist rate. He doesn’t rebound particularly well, so Fidler might play the 3 more than the 4. Either way, with big vacancies left from AJ Hoggard, Tyson Walker, and Malik Hall’s departures Izzo will likely lean on the experience of Fidler over some of the more raw recruits on the team.
Aaron Bradshaw (Ohio State)
Perhaps the least proven guy on this list is Aaron Bradshaw, but he could also have one of the highest ceilings.
A year ago Bradshaw was the no.5 overall recruit and was the no.1 ranked center in the class. An injury kept Bradshaw out of Kentucky’s lineup in November, but Bradshaw in his second career game recorded 17pts, 11rbs, and 3blks on 7-12 from the field including a made three. That’s the kind of impact Bradshaw can have. Now inconsistency plagued his freshman season in Lexington and by the end of the season Calipari was only playing Bradshaw spot minutes.
Coach Diebler lost starting center Felix Okpara to the portal (Tennessee) and now a natural gap has emerged for Bradshaw. I would expect Bradshaw to fend off Austin Parks and any small ball center lineup with Devin Royal or Duke transfer Sean Stewart at the 5.
Last year Bradshaw played off two NBA lottery picks in Rob Dillingham and Reed Sheppard. This year, he will get to play off experienced guards like Meechie Johnson and Bruce Thornton who will feed him easy looks regularly. Bradshaw undoubtedly has a higher ceiling offensively then Okpara did, but what will he look like on defense? His ability to play to his potential on both sides of the ball could change Ohio State’s realistic goals dramatically.
Ra’Heim Moss (Oregon)
Perhaps nobody in the Big Ten has as wide of a range of outcomes as the Ducks.
There’s a version of Oregon that misses the tournament and there’s a version of them where they are pushing to win the Big Ten title. Any timeline where Oregon is confidently in the NCAA Tournament involves Toledo transfer Ra’Heim Moss being a big hit by Dana Altman.
As a junior last year Moss earned 1st Team All-MAC honors after averaging 15.5ppg, 5.4rpg, & 3.0apg for the MAC regular season Champion Rockets. Moss is a pesky guard who stutter steps his way thru the lane and finishing over, around and thru defenders at the rim. He’s a passable shooter (30.8 3pt%) who is better when he gets his feet set in spot up opportunities or off of Dribble hand offs versus dribbling into one and jacking it. Moss is a good passer and played a combo guard role with fellow All-MAC performer Dante Maddox as the creators. He will need to do the same as he plays next to All-Big Ten hopeful Jackson Shelstad in the Oregon backcourt.
Moss seems like a good bet to be a great plug and play guy for Altman and Oregon. The best version of Moss would come with an increase to his playmaking and more efficient three point shooting. Playing on a better team as more of a role player might help make that possible. Moss nearly doubled his scoring from a Sophomore to a Junior so the work ethic to improve is there.
The questions for Oregon are likely in the frontcourt not the backcourt. Moss and Shelstad could end up being one of the Big Ten’s best. Moss might infuriate Big Ten fans this year with how well he scores at the basket, but it’ll infuriate you dear reader slightly less because you will be prepared for it.
Ja’Kobi Gillespie & Derik Queen (Maryland)
Maryland is like IU where I could write about a bunch of players, but I am going to limit myself to just Gillespie and Queen.
Derik Queen is a 5-Star center and is Baltimore’s very own. Queen is a bully at 6’10”, 246lbs and has an old school feel to his back-to-the basket game. He has super-sticky hands that glom on to every rebound and catch any pass to him. In the McDonald’s All-American game he flashed his playmaking skills with 5 assists. He almost reminds me of a quicker Trevion Williams which should scare opposing Big Ten fans.
On the other end of the spectrum is rising Junior guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie from Belmont. Gillespie was a stud last year in Tennessee averaging 17.2ppg, 3.8rpg, 4.2apg and 2.2 steals a game on insane shooting splits (66 2pt% / 38.7 3pt% / 63.1 EFG%). He was All-Missouri Valley Conference 2nd Team (remember MVC had Tucker Devries from Drake and all the Indiana State kids too) while also being on the All-MVC Defensive team. With Jahmir Young gone, Kevin Willard will be leaning heavily on Gillespie and new backcourt teammate Selton Miguel (UCF) to run the offense. If Gillespie can be that much of a bucket, make plays for his teammates with an assist rate of 27%, and play defense that well he will make an All-Big Ten team by seasons end.
Maryland was a major disappointment last year and I imagine Kevin Willard doesn’t feel comfortable sitting down. The Terps have a fairly new roster for the most part and these two will be the most important players to make sure Willard’s chair cools down.
Saint Thomas & Desmond Claude (USC)
Nobody believes in Eric Musselman and USC this year, except for maybe me and it’s because of these two players. If the Trojans are going to swing for a March Madness spot this season, it will be because both Desmond Claude and Saint Thomas are Top-40 Big Ten players.
Claude is a rangy 6’5″ rising Junior who spent his first two seasons at Xavier with Sean Miller. Last year, Claude made the leap from bench player to starter and absolutely made the most of it. He increased his scoring by nearly a dozen points (16.6ppg) and nearly doubled his rebounds and assists too. Claude is an upper crust pick and roll ballhandler (66th percentile in PPP) and finishes at the rim at 56%. The big question marks for him is his inefficient shot. Claude was worse as a Sophomore at 23.9% from 3pt on 3.3 attempts than his already bad 29% as a Freshman. If Musselman is going to run offense thru Claude like I think he will, Claude needs to keep an eye out for his teammates a touch more and he will need to bring a little more danger to opposing defenses from distance.
Meanwhile, Saint Thomas might be this year’s Dalton Knecht. Tennessee fans will tell you Chaz Lanier is this year’s Knecht, but if we go by who the best transfer out of Northern Colorado this season… then it will be Thomas. Yes, Thomas was a NoCo Bear just like Knecht and in Knecht’s absence he averaged 19.7ppg, 9.8rpg, and 4.2 apg. Thomas has superb ball skills as a 6’7″ forward that really resembles a guard as he is an above average pick and roll ballhandler and passer. He finishes at an astounding 67% at the rim though while still spacing when needed at 33% from beyond the arc. He quite literally does everything, but that was against Big Sky level competition. To expect him to be Knecht might be hyperbolic, but it’s also foolish to expect him not to be a good player with the kind of numbers he efficiently put up last season.
Musselman will have an uphill battle with an entirely new roster with no big men, but that climb might be easier if these two play as borderline All-Big Ten players.
Kasparas Jakucionis (Illinois)
Jakucionis is probably the guy on this list the fewest casual fans will have heard of and he could be one of the most important ones on it.
Illinois restocked their roster with 10 new scholarship players and returned just two players. Five of the new players are highly rated Freshmen and the one with the best MBA bona fides is Jakucionis.
The Lithuanian prospect measures at 6’6” 200lbs and what makes him so intriguing at the next level is he’s a playmaking point guard at that size. KJ, as Brad Underwood affectionately called him on his recent visit on College Hoops Today podcast, played for FC Barcelona’s B team last year and in 19 appearances averaged 19.2 points, 6.6 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 1.6 steals with shooting splits of 48% overall, 38% from 3-point range, and 88% from the free throw line. What does that kind of production against B-team of euro league equate to? I don’t know! But no amount of American pride should make you think that isn’t crazy effective.
On the College Hopps Today podcast appearance, Underwood was clearly positioning KJ as a leader and player to watch consistently leading off answers gushing about Jakucionis before doing the coach-thing of naming the rest of his roster like a shopping list. Underwood even said that Jakucionis is, “separating himself” and stated him first as who the offense would run thru this season. With Terrence Shannon Jr and Marcus Domask gone there is a gap for lead ball handler and it looks like KJ will fill it.
Other young players like Will Riley, Tomislav Ivišić, Morez Johnson, and plenty of the transfers too are intriguing and will play critical roles this year, but it seems Jakucionis will play the most pivotal role. The 18 year old was recently mocked as high as no.6 overall pick by Sam Vecenie of The Athletic. If his ceiling is that high how high can Illinois’ be?
Oumar Ballo & Myles Rice (Indiana)
I saved Indiana for last because I want their rabid fanbase to read til the end and because those same fans probably made sure you knew these players committed to the Hoosiers. While the four PAC-12 teams are bringing over zero All-PAC 12 players into the Big Ten this year, Mike Woodson will have two 1st Team All-PAC 12 players on the Hoosiers in Oumar Ballo & Myles Rice.
Ballo finds his way to Bloomington after being a perfect system fit for Tommy Lloyd and Arizona. Ballo stands at 7′ and weighs 260lbs but moves much more nimbly than most bigs that size. His speed up and down the court was perfect for Lloyd’s offense at Arizona and Ballo utilized his big body in the halfcourt to bury his defender under the rim. Ballo earned back to back 1st Team All-PAC 12 honors as a starter the past two seasons averaging basically 13pts and 10 boards a game in just 26ish minutes while shooting above 65% from the field.
However, Lloyd’s scheme with constant duck ins, well spaced pick and rolls, overall fast paced offense and plenty of players who can make an entry pass made Ballo’s life easy in Tuscon. What will Ballo be like for the first time not under Lloyd? How will Ballo’s game translate to Woodson’s offense? When Ballo does his dirty work and gets position in the paint will the Hoosier guards regularly feed him?
Ballo is a fantastic rebounder especially on the offensive glass and is a seriously advantageous defender too. To be able to succeed in Lloyd’s offense you have to have good basketball intelligence. Ballo will be smart enough that he can find ways to impact the game even if he isn’t as much of a factor offensively as you might expect a 2x All Conference performer.
Someone who will be a huge factor offensively is Washington State transfer Myles Rice. Rice was a surprise hit last year when he earned All-PAC 12 honors as a redshirt Freshman and lead the Cougars as the surprise team of the conference. He scored nearly 15 points a game and dished around 4 assists per game while being a confident scorer in the post, midrange and three point line. Rice scores extremely well at the rim (63%) and from the FT line (81%), but could use some fine tuning from long range (27.5 3PT%). He will be the lead ballhandler for the Hoosiers which I imagine Trey Galloway is happy to cede and I’m sure Indiana fans are happy that it will no longer be Xavier Johnson as well.
I could go on with IU and talk about Stanford transfer Kanaan Carlyle or Top-30 recruit Bryson Tucker, but Ballo and Rice will be the ones with the biggest impact on this team’s ceiling. They are going to be the team’s anchor & captain of the ship respectively and Woodson will need Ballo to hold them down (in the paint and on the glass) and Rice to steer them in the right direction.
And that’s it! 14 new players who dictate the seasons of 10 different Big Ten programs all wrapped up. Don’t miss out on our One Big Question for Every Big Ten team article and I will be back next week with my Increasingly Bold Predictions for the 2024-25 CBB Season column.