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

23. Juwan Staten

A Top 100 recruit from the Class of 2010, Staten is a 6’1 guard from Dayton who decided to stay at home, committing to the Flyers and playing under Brian Gregory. After Gregory departed for Georgia Tech in 2011, Staten opted to transfer and ended up finishing off his collegiate career at West Virginia. The season he sat out as he redshirted turned out to be the Mountaineers’ final year in the Big East, meaning he played in West Virginia’s first three years in the Big 12.

A decent addition early, he really came onto the scene as a junior, averaging 18.1 points, 5.8 assists, and 5.6 rebounds in quite an explosive season. The Mountaineers were even better during his senior season, a year where Staten’s personal numbers were slightly lower (14.2 points, 4.6 assists a game). West Virginia made the Sweet Sixteen, giving Staten his first and only trip to the Big Dance. He scored a career-high 35 points in a win over Kansas State as a junior, but did have two decent performances during the Mountaineers’ Tournament run.

The Big 12’s top scorer in 2014, Staten was twice named First Team All-Big 12 and was also on the conference’s All-Defense team. He had impressive metrics on both sides of the ball, becoming the focal point of West Virginia’s offense as a junior and a significant ball distributor throughout his time in Morgantown. He was key in the beginning of West Virginia’s success in the mid-2010’s.