NCAA Basketball: Ranking top 20 players for 2023-24 Julius Erving Award

6. Arthur Kaluma – Kansas State Wildcats

2022-23 season stats (at Creighton): 11.8 ppg and 6.0 rpg

Kaluma was the 5th-leading scorer in the starting lineup at Creighton, which shows how much talent there was on the team. He now moves over to Kansas State, which lost both Markquis Nowell and Keyontae Johnson. It’s a great chance for Kaluma to be a focal point and he’s shown that he can have some big games. The Wildcats will need that to be viable in the Big 12 again.

5. Jalen Bridges – Baylor Bears

2022-23 season stats: 10.3 ppg and 5.6 rpg

After three years at West Virginia, Bridges has his best year yet with the Bears. Yet he was still the 4th option on offense, playing alongside a trio of elite scoring guards. They’re all gone now and even though Baylor brought in a new group of guards, look for the senior forward to take more of a key role in the offense for the preseason top-20 squad.

4. Tucker DeVries – Drake Bulldogs

2022-23 season stats: 18.6 ppg and 5.7 rpg

DeVries was the clear MVC Player of the Year last season, leading Drake to the NCAA Tournament. He had 15 games of at least 20 points, including back-to-back 32-point games in league play. While mid-major guys rarely have a shot at these awards, the small forward position is one of the weaker groups presented this week, allowing the MVC star a shot at being a real threat.