NCAA Basketball: Most important player on each top-25 team for 2022-23 season

We’re at the point in the NCAA Basketball season where rankings of the top players come out. There’s always the focus, and rightfully so, on the best players for the top teams in the country. But sometimes, when it comes to maximizing a team’s potential, it’s one another player who needs to step up and have a big impact.

This piece will focus on the “most important player” for the top-25 teams. The rankings are based on our previous work in the offseason, though our official preseason power rankings will be coming soon. This isn’t about who the best guys are but rather who has the most pressure on them to succeed in order for their respective programs to be contenders to make the NCAA Tournament and beyond.

25. Ohio State Buckeyes – Zed Key

The frontcourt was fairly stacked last season with star forward E.J, Liddell, Kyle Young, Joey Brunk, and Zed Key. Key is the lone remaining of the group after averaging 7.8 ppg and 5.6 rpg in fewer than 20 mpg. The 6’8 and 250-pound big man had multiple performances where he showed that he can be a focal point of an offense, including 20 points in the upset win over Duke and 10 points and 12 rebounds versus Rutgers.

Ohio State did land a trio of perimeter transfers and has a bunch of guards from the incoming top-15 class. But the frontcourt has essentially been left to Key and if he can be a consistent threat from inside, the team won’t miss Liddell too much. But if he struggles, there will be a lack of balance offensively and force guys like Tanner Holden and Sean McNeil to have an even larger role than expected.