Big 12 Basketball: Ranking of top 25 players entering 2023-24 season

We’re on the verge of another exciting college basketball season. The opening tip is the culmination of months of offseason moves and years of training for the thousands of athletes in this sport. We’ve made it through the chaos and uncertainty, but there’s still time for a bit of prognostication.

Change is inevitable in today’s college basketball universe, with bonus seasons from the pandemic and the NIL and the Transfer Portal combining to wreak havoc. Rosters can be completely redone in mere weeks and big names players seem to be on the move on a regular basis, and that was certainly the case in the Big 12.

We won’t touch on all those names on the move, but today we’re identifying the 25 best individual players in Big 12 Basketball for the upcoming season. The league added four new teams in the offseason, including a very strong Houston program, but which programs will emerge this year and which players will lead the charge?

25. Nicolas Timberlake – Kansas

After spending the last five years at Towson, there’s one more year of eligibility left for Timberlake (he played just nine games as a true freshman) and he’s spending it at a Blue Blood. This very talented sharpshooter joins the Jayhawks and will certainly play a role for the preseason #1 team in the nation. Timberlake is coming off his third season as a starter for the Tigers, averaging 17.7 points per game while leading the CAA in free throw shooting and made 3-pointers.

A relative unknown to most college basketball fans when he was at Towson, Timberlake transitions into the Big 12 and could be an important piece this season. Bill Self will lean on his shooting ability, and he’s certain the best long-range shooter on this Kansas squad. While Timberlake almost certainly won’t be expected to score 17 points a game, can the Jayhawks expect the same level of success from outside the arc this year?