Big 12 NCAAB Power Rankings: Way-to-early top 5 player projections
A total of nine players from the Big 12 conference were selected in the 2024 NBA draft. Now, as the conference is set to welcome Houston (2024) and Arizona (2025), the talent pool will face even tighter competition throughout the season.
Here's a deeper dive into way-too-early predictions of the Big 12 players that could rise to the top in the 2024-25 season.
Top 5 Big 12 conference players in 2024-25 season
#5. Darius Johnson - UCF Knights
The Knights will enter the 2024-25 season mainly focusing on complimenting Darius Johnson in its second Big 12 endeavor. The ideology stems from the 19 fresh faces in the program’s last two years, making the mainstay Johnson a reliable element.
He has played over 80 games for UCF so far while significantly improving his numbers each year. He averaged 15.2 points, 3.7 assists, 3.3 rebounds and 2.2 steals last season and will have ample opportunities to top it in 2024-25.
#4. Caleb Love - Arizona Wildcats
Love decided to experiment with his final-year eligibility and shunned his 2024 NBA draft candidacy. The sudden move sparked a de-commit from four-star recruit Joson Sanon and sent him to rivals Arizona State. Nevertheless, the veteran inclusion of Caleb Love makes the Wildcats a Big 12 heavyweight.
Love played three years at UNC before posting 18.0 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 3.4 apg and 1.2 spg as the first option with Arizona, recording career-highs in scoring, steals, rebounding and field-goal efficiency.
#3. Tucker DeVries - West Virginia Mountaineers
Tucker DeVries comes to the Mountaineers having spent his three years with the Drake Bulldogs of the Missouri Valley Conference. He averaged 21.6 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 3.7 apg and 1.6 spg, earning back-to-back conference Player of the Year titles.
One major reason behind DeVries’ transfer is West Virginia’s latest coaching hire Darian DeVries, his father.
#2. L.J. Cryer - Houston Cougars
In his first year with the program after transferring from Baylor, L.J. Cryer was Houston’s leading scorer with 15.5 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 1.9 apg and 1.1 spg. He touched the 20-point mark 13 times and has an overall efficiency of 41.1%.
However, if Cryer aims to top his previous season, he will have to overcome the challenges of inconsistency in his production. He opened the season with nine points against Monroe Warhawks and ended with a dismal seven points in the Big 12 Championship game against Iowa State Cyclones.
#1. Hunter Dickinson - Kansas Jayhawks
Dickinson withdrew early from his NBA draft candidacy to mark a Jayhawks return and make them one of the best teams in the Big 12. He averaged a double-double of 17.9 ppg and 10.9 rpg last season alongside 1.4 bpg and 0.9 spg.
Some of his notable performances during his 17 double-doubles last year include a 27-point, 21-rebound game against John Calipari’s Wildcats and a 30-point, 11-rebound game versus TCU.