With the official start of practice next month, UMHoops and Inside the Hall have partnered to bring you our annual preseason breakdown of the top players in the Big Ten. This year, the list has been expanded after the addition of four programs to the conference.
The series is broken into seven parts, with one post each weekday through Friday, August 30. Our fifth installment looking at players 15-11 for the 2024-25 season is available below:
Previously: 40-31, 30-26, 25-21, 20-16
15. Kasparus Jakucionis, Illinois (6-foot-6, guard, freshman)
Why he could outperform this ranking: Lithuanian guard Kasparus Jakucionis might not be a household name for college basketball fans, but the freshman is already on the NBA radar after excelling overseas in Barcelona’s youth program. Jakucionis is a lead guard with terrific size who can facilitate or create his own scoring opportunities. He’ll have to make a significant leap to the college game at 18, but he’s impressed at enough high-profile international youth events to make this year’s list.
Illinois loses Terrence Shannon Jr., Marcus Domask and Coleman Hawkins, which leaves plenty of playmaking and scoring opportunities for Jakucionis.
Why he could underperform this ranking: International freshmen almost always take at least one year to transition to the college game. This isn’t a case where Jakucionis was playing high-level professional basketball either; he primarily played at youth events like the Adidas NGT. Several of last year’s ANGT stars struggled to make an impact at the college level as freshmen, so there’s some potential downside to any Jakucionis projection.
14. Great Osobor, Washington (6-foot-8, forward, senior)
2023-24 stats (35 games at Utah State): 17.7 ppg, 9.0 rpg, 2.8 apg, 1.4 bpg, 1.3 spg, 57.7% FG, 21.4% 3PFG in 33.7 mins
Why he could outperform this ranking: Osobor averaged 17.7 points and nine rebounds per game last year at Utah State and is sticking with a coach who knows him best. Osobor followed Danny Sprinkle from Montana State to Utah State and now Washington. He was a breakout star in the Mountain West last year and now heads to the Big Ten level to play for a team that will need his production down low. Osobor excels getting to the line, shoots 59 percent from two, and is dominant on both backboards.
Why he could underperform this ranking: The Big Ten is still a significant step up from the Mountain West, especially for a 6-foot-8, 250-pound center. The size and athleticism around the basket in the Big Ten is a level above what Osobor has seen at previous stops and Washington’s roster might lack some of the talent relative to league expectations that Utah State had last year.
13. Vladislav Goldin, Michigan (7-foot-1, center, graduate student)
2023-24 stats (34 games at Florida Atlantic): 15.7 ppg, 6.9 rpg, 1.6 bpg, 67.3% FG in 25 mins
Why he could outperform this ranking: Like Osobor, Goldin follows his head coach to the Big Ten. He anchored a Florida Atlantic team that won 60 games and made the Final Four over the past two years in Boca Raton. He has a legit 7-foot frame and played his best basketball of his career late last year at FAU. Goldin averaged 18.1 points and 6.7 rebounds in 28 minutes per game over FAU’s final 14 games. He’s a terrific finisher and efficient post-up scorer who shot 67 percent on twos and should be plug-and-play in the middle of Dusty May’s system.
Why he could underperform this ranking: The inevitable step up in competition from the American to the Big Ten is a risk. Goldin also has to figure out his role alongside Danny Wolf. He’ll be adjusting to a new two-big system and splitting some minutes at the five with another talented player, which could leave at least some opportunity for his production to slip this season.
12. Dawson Garcia, Minnesota (6-foot-11, forward, fifth-year senior)
2023-24 stats (31 games): 17.6 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 1.6 apg, 1.0 bpg, 48.6% FG, 31.9% 3PFG in 31.9 mins
Why he could outperform this ranking: Garcia has been one of the top big men in the conference for several years after stops at Marquette and North Carolina to begin his career. He showed steady improvement from year one at Minnesota to year two, so another leap isn’t out of the question. Offensively, he can score in the post, midrange and can step out to knock in the occasional 3-pointer. He ranked seventh in the Big Ten last season in free throw rate and converted at an 80.2 percent clip from the stripe. He also shot 69.1 percent at the rim. While expectations remain low in Minneapolis, the presence of Garcia in the paint gives Ben Johnson a solid starting point on an otherwise unproven roster.
Why he could underperform this ranking: It’s not unreasonable to believe Garcia’s efficiency could slip given the program’s losses in the transfer portal (Pharrel Payne, Elijah Hawkins) and to the NBA (Cam Christie). He’ll be surrounded by far less talent this season and will have even more pressure to perform on a Minnesota team that’s expected to finish near the bottom of the league. As steady as Garcia has been over the last two seasons, his upside to elevate his game seems limited on a depleted Gopher roster.
11. Malik Reneau, Indiana (6-foot-9, forward, junior)
2023-24 stats (33 games): 15.4 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 2.7 apg, 55.8% FG, 33.3% 3PFG in 28.7 mins
Why he could outperform this ranking: There’s not a ton of proven talent returning in the Big Ten this season, especially not on teams expected to contend. Reneau averaged 15.4 points and six rebounds per game in the Big Ten. He’s a proven, productive player who could easily take another step forward for a team with as much talent as any in the conference. He’s a terrific post-up scorer (87th percentile), but his upside hinges on his passing (20 percent assist rate) and playmaking, which could make IU’s two-big offense click.
Why he could underperform this ranking: Reneau’s downside hinges on roster and positional fit. He’s a tweener defensively who doesn’t rebound or defend the paint as well as you’d hope for a true center, and he doesn’t shoot or defend the perimeter as well as you’d expect for a power forward. Indiana’s solution was to bring in another true center to shore up the interior, but that means two players who don’t shoot it well from the outside – Reneau was 15-of-45 from deep last season – and the looming presence of bigger wings who could easily slide up to the four.
Filed to: 2024-25 Big Ten preview
