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

3. Ochai Agbaji

This 6’5 guard from Kansas City was a 3-star prospect who somewhat flew under the radar, but it didn’t stop Bill Self from finding him. Agbaji arrived at Kansas back in 2018, making the short sojourn from his hometown and growing into a major role with the Jayhawks. He started most of the 122 games he played while at Kansas and was monumental in their national title during his senior year.

A talented wing, Agbaji’s scoring and shooting numbers improved with each season. He was just over 8 points a game in his freshman season, but by his senior year was putting up some pretty great numbers. Agbaji had 37 points in a double overtime win over Texas Tech during that season, a year where he’d average 18.8 points and 5.1 rebounds per game. Not only did he make just under 41% of his 3-pointers, but he helped take Kansas to that national title with timely shooting and great execution.

In fact, Agbaji was named the NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player for 2022. That wasn’t the only honor for the Big 12’s top scorer, as he was also a First Team All-American, Big 12 Player of the Year, and Big 12 Tournament MVP. Suffice to say, he was the major cog in Kansas’s machine for the entire season. Few players ever achieve as much as he did in that senior season and it was quite the turn of events for someone who wasn’t even a Top 100 recruit out of college.