Big Ten Basketball: Top 25 non-freshmen players for 2022-23 season

16. Chucky Hepburn – Wisconsin Badgers

2021-22 stats: 7.9 ppg, 2.3 apg

The 6’2 guard had to play behind both Johnny Davis and Brad Davison in the backcourt hierarchy but still started and was an All-Big Ten freshman. His 15 points against Marquette in the non-conference showed his long-term potential as a scorer and overall had 12 games in double figures, led by 17 points against Purdue.

Yey Hepburn was also inefficient, shooting under 39% overall from the field but was at 35% from deep. He’ll have to improve those numbers as the projected No. 1 option in the backcourt but Wisconsin has a good history with “breakout candidates” so look for Hepburn to be an All-Big Ten candidate and have the numbers to back it up.

15. Matthew Mayer – Illinois Fighting Illini

2021-22 stats (at Baylor): 9.8 ppg, 5.0 apg

Mayer is an interesting player because he has just 33 total starts in four years (all last season) and never averaged double figures in scoring. But he still was one of the top transfer portal options this offseason due to being a former national champion and a capable stretch four. Mayer shot 40% from three-point range as a junior at Baylor and is a good defender as well.

The case for Mayer being an impact transfer is that he could be the No. 1 or 2 scoring option at Illinois, compared to being at best, No. 4 with the Bears before. His shooting ability is elite and he showed even last season that he can go for 15+ points, it just wasn’t consistent enough. But expect his usage rate to take a big leap, with his stats to follow.