Big 12 Basketball: Ranking of 25 best players from last decade (2013-23)

25. Austin Reaves

An impressive athlete and one of the biggest names at the tail end of Lon Kruger’s coaching career, Reaves made a name for himself at Oklahoma, but that’s not where his journey began. This 6’5 guard from Newark, Arkansas played a pair of seasons at Wichita State before transferring into the Big 12. He started 56 games for the Sooners and was a very important weapon for the program.

Reaves averaged 14.7 points and 5.3 rebounds as a redshirt junior during the season ended early by the pandemic. He actually had a 41-point outburst against TCU in what would become Oklahoma’s final game of the season in early March. During his senior year, Reaves put up 18.3 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 4.6 assists, filling stat sheets and helping lead Oklahoma to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Reaves earned himself First Team All-Big 12 honors as a senior and was among the conference’s leaders in a number of categories. His free throw shooting was among the best in the nation and he was certainly a great asset in Kruger’s final years coaching in Norman. The Sooners may have won just a single Tournament game with Reaves on the roster, but he was a major factor for their success and has continued that journey in the NBA.