Big Ten Basketball: 2019-20 under the radar players from each team
By Jacob Shames
Illinois: Tevian Jones
The Fighting Illini’s roster is loaded. Trent Frazier and potential NBA pick Ayo Dosunmu might be the Big Ten’s best backcourt tandem, while Giorgi Bezhanishvili and Kofi Cockburn down low should be too much for the conference to handle. Their one uncertainty lies on the wing.
That’s where Jones comes in. In high school, the four-star Arizonan held his own playing alongside Shareef O’Neal and Bol Bol on the Nike EYBL circuit. He’s a rangy 6’7 with everything you want from a modern wing — he can shoot, shoot off the bounce, and handle at a high level.
While he averaged just 3.5 points last year, he did so on an efficient 114.7 offensive rating. Half the battle for freshmen is getting on the court, and he did so in all but two Big Ten games after appearing in just half of Illinois’ non-conference games. Games against Maryland (18 points in 23 minutes) and Iowa in the Big Ten Tournament (11 points, 3-5 3-point shooting) show what he’s capable of. Jones might not start to begin the year, but he has all the tools to explode onto the scene.
Indiana: Damezi Anderson
Much of what I wrote about Jones could just as easily be written about Anderson. Both stand 6’7. Both are former four-star recruits. Both played less than 10 minutes per game in their first season.
That’s where their paths diverge. Expectations for Anderson were higher right out of the gate, as evidenced by his dwindling minutes totals throughout the season. In Indiana’s first five games, the fewest minutes Anderson saw was 17. He hit that total only once for the rest of the year.
It might not be a coincidence that Anderson’s numbers look better the more minutes he got. He scored 31 points for the year, but all of those points came in games where he played at least 15 minutes. In those seven contests, he shot 39 percent from deep. For a freshman trying to assert himself in the rotation, consistent action often builds confidence, which in turn leads to production. Anderson lacked a defined role last year, but if he gets regular minutes as a sophomore, he has the ability to become one of the Big Ten’s better 3-and-D guys.
Iowa: Jack Nunge
Clearly, Fran McCaffery is familiar with Kelly Olynyk.
After Nunge’s promising freshman season, in which he averaged 5.7 points and 2.8 rebounds, ranked second on the team in blocks and fourth in steals, shot 33 percent from deep, recording a 107.8 ORTG, McCaffery decided to redshirt him for 2018-19. For those unfamiliar with Iowa it seemed like an unconventional move, but everything about it made sense. The Hawkeyes already had a crowded big man group with Tyler Cook, Luka Garza, Nicholas Baer and Ryan Kriener. Furthermore, Nunge, at 6’11 but just 225 pounds, needed to gain strength to become a truly consistent force.
On the eve of his redshirt sophomore season, Nunge weighs in at 245 pounds, a size that could allow him to fully unlock his tantalizing potential, and will serve him especially well in the bruising Big Ten. Basketball fans are familiar with how Olynyk tripled his scoring average and became a first-team All-American after redshirting after his sophomore year at Gonzaga. It’s probably unrealistic to expect Nunge to do exactly the same, but the blueprint for a breakout season is there.