Busting Brackets
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Big Ten basketball: Top 15 players for the 2019-20 season

By Austin Walther

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - APRIL 06: Head coach Tom Izzo of the Michigan State Spartans talks with Cassius Winston #5 in the second half against the Texas Tech Red Raiders during the 2019 NCAA Final Four semifinal at U.S. Bank Stadium on April 6, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - APRIL 06: Head coach Tom Izzo of the Michigan State Spartans talks with Cassius Winston #5 in the second half against the Texas Tech Red Raiders during the 2019 NCAA Final Four semifinal at U.S. Bank Stadium on April 6, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /
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PISCATAWAY, NJ – JANUARY 09: Geo Baker #0 of the Rutgers Scarlet Knights shoots the game-winning three-point basket as Luther Muhammad #1 and Andre Wesson #24 of the Ohio State Buckeyes defend during the second half in a game at Rutgers Athletic Center on January 9, 2019 in Piscataway, New Jersey. Rutgers defeated Ohio State 64-61. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images)
PISCATAWAY, NJ – JANUARY 09: Geo Baker #0 of the Rutgers Scarlet Knights shoots the game-winning three-point basket as Luther Muhammad #1 and Andre Wesson #24 of the Ohio State Buckeyes defend during the second half in a game at Rutgers Athletic Center on January 9, 2019 in Piscataway, New Jersey. Rutgers defeated Ohio State 64-61. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images) /

12. Geo Baker, Junior, Guard, Rutgers

I don’t discriminate teams when it comes to picking the best players in the Big Ten. Geo Baker was thrown into the mix right away at Rutgers. The Scarlett Knights have never had much success so they rolled with Baker as a freshman. He started in 29 out of 33 games. Baker was solid with almost 11 points per game, 2.6 assists and 53 three-pointers. Baker took the point guard role by storm as a sophomore. He started in 30 out of 31 games. His scoring went up two points, he went up over four assists per game and knocked down 60 three-pointers.

People were trying to ignore Lamar Stevens for a while because Penn State struggled. That got put to an end. So I’m putting an end to ignoring Baker. The big excitement in Rutgers’ season last year was the upset of Miami in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge. The Scarlett Knights took down the Hurricanes in a big surprise. Baker played in all but one minute, scored 16 points with six assists and seven boards. For the first time since joining the Big Ten, Rutgers didn’t finish in last place. They went 7-13 in the Big Ten and a 14-17 record overall.

Baker came a point and assist shy of a double-twice. Once against Maine and the other to Iowa. He knocked down three or more three-pointers seven times. Baker went 20 or more points three times and recorded double-digits 22 out of 31 games. It’s hard to ignore Geo Baker all together when he finished top-five in assists in the Big Ten and is a candidate to do the same this season.

Eugene Omoruyi left New Jersey and Geo Baker should be the leading scorer. The Scarlett Knights have a nice nucleus back, but Baker is the most talented. For being a guard, he’s a very nice rebounder and an excellent lockdown defender. It doesn’t matter what Rutgers’ record is going to be when Baker is looking impressive.

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