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

12. Dawson Garcia – Minnesota Golden Gophers

2021-22 stats (at UNC): 9.0 ppg and 5.5 rpg

A year ago, Garcia was a consensus top-10 offseason transfer after going from Marquette to North Carolina and putting up 13.0 ppg and 6.6 rpg while shooting 48% from the field and 36% from three-point range. He was awesome as a freshman but between being an awful fit with Armando Bacot in the frontcourt and family issues back home, Garcia is now with the Gophers.

The frontcourt for Minnesota was non-existent last season in part due to injuries but there’s still not a lot of depth. Garcia will be the second option on offense and get plenty of touches so his numbers should look similar to the Marquette days. But in order for the team to be a postseason threat, the newcomer big man will have to be in range of the top-tier frontcourt players in the league.

11. Zed Key – Ohio State Buckeyes

2021-22 stats: 7.8 ppg, 5.6 rpg

The 6’8 big man was a starter last season but played on average fewer than 20 mpg. That makes his per 40 numbers around 16 ppg and 11 mpg. And without star forward E.J. Liddell now around, look for Key to get more time on the court and be the focal point of the frontcourt.

Key had 20 points against Duke and 14 rebounds versus Nebraska in his best performances but there were plenty of games where he did next to nothing offensively, while Liddell carried the way. With no one for Key to play second fiddle to inside, could potentially put up monster numbers at Ohio State.