Big Ten Basketball: Ranking of top 25 players entering 2023-24 season
By Joey Loose
24. Zed Key – Ohio State
It’s year four for Key at Ohio State and his third year in the starting lineup. Things haven’t always gone according to plan for the Buckeyes in recent years, but Key has been a solid piece at the back end of the lineup. He’s not a super elite talent, but did average 10.8 points and 7.5 rebounds per game last year while adding the 3-pointer to his game, albeit with limited success.
Where Key stars is on the offensive glass, rating as one of the best offensive rebounders in the Big Ten. He hasn’t been much of a shooter or shotblocker, but Key plays his role well in the paint. If the Buckeyes are going to have a bounce back season, they’ll need Key to become an even more important piece of the puzzle on both sides of the ball.
23. Tyler Wahl – Wisconsin
Wahl has made a more significant impact these last few seasons, but is actually entering his fifth and final year as a Badger. He entered the starting lineup midway through his sophomore year and averaged at least 11 points per game each of the last two seasons. However, his shooting numbers were quite down last season, dropping from 57% to 44% on field goal attempts inside the arc.
Clearly Wahl wasn’t himself most of last year after struggling with an ankle injury and Wisconsin is going to need him to play much better if they’re going to have a bounce back campaign. He’s not someone you have to worry about shooting from long range, but Wahl makes a significant impact from the frontcourt and rated as a very solid defensive rebounder last year.