The other player representative for the Illini, Coleman Hawkins, is a key returnee and could very well be the starting center as life without All-American Kofi Cockburn begins. ( Texas Tech) and Matthew Mayer ( Baylor), both of whom will be on hand at media day. Wild, right? Well, while that left Brad Underwood and his staff with a difficult task, Illinois brought in two of the biggest names in the portal in Terrence Shannon Jr. The Fighting Illini lost their top five scorers from last year’s team. What are the expectations from the minds of the newcomers? We’ll get to hear from Akins in Minneapolis. There’s an expectation that he’ll be back soon and will be ready to go for the season. Akins is currently recovering from a foot injury, but Izzo told reporters this past week that he’s making progress. Akins is scheduled to appear at media day, and Izzo has said he could have a breakout season after averaging just 3.4 points per game as a freshman. It will be interesting to hear from Spartan players on a potentially different, smaller look for them this season, and an update on sophomore guard Akins is also newsworthy. Northeastern transfer Tyson Walker also had a strong summer. Izzo has said that junior AJ Hoggard, who led Michigan State with 174 assists last year, could take on the alpha role. While Mady Sissoko is back and freshman Jaxon Kohler looks promising, Michigan State’s best lineup looks more like Malik Hall at the four and Joey Hauser at the five.įor a team that lost its top three scorers from last season - Gabe Brown, Max Christie and Marcus Bingham Jr., the preseason goal for the Spartans has been to develop some leaders. How’s small ball working for Tom Izzo, and what’s the latest with Jaden Akins ?įor Michigan State, playing a traditional center has been the normal practice over the years, but the Hall of Famer on the sideline is going to have to change the look of the Spartans based on his personnel. Both of the Wolverines’ newest options on the perimeter will join Dickinson to meet the press, and it will be interesting to see how things are faring for a program that’s been so consistent in recent years but might be getting underrated across the country. Princeton transfer Jaelin Llewellyn should occupy a starting role, and there is serious buzz surrounding four-star freshman wing Jett Howard. The key in Ann Arbor is what happens in the backcourt with Eli Brooks and DeVante Jones gone. With Dickinson back, the Wolverines could certainly make a March run again, but many preseason projections have them as a fringe AP Top 25 team. Juwan Howard has led his program to back-to-back trips to the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament, with an Elite Eight in 2021 followed by a Sweet 16 last season. But what about the Wolverines’ backcourt? Could this team be getting overlooked nationally? With media days on the horizon, what are some of the top storylines that provide intrigue around the conference? We go rapid-fire with a list of 10 topics on the Big Ten. Michigan’s Hunter Dickinson and Purdue’s Zach Edey joined Jackson-Davis as the only unanimous selections. The other takeaway from the preseason selections? Returning big men headline the league, just as they do in the rest of college basketball entering this season.
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