Six Breakout Big Ten Players To Watch For In 2023-24

Roddy Gayle Jr. – Ohio State 

In somewhat controversial fashion Ohio State Head Coach Chris Holtmann, prioritized playing his Freshman last season and getting them as much experience as possible on the basketball court. This is somewhat uncommon in the sport of College Basketball in the year 2023, with a large amount of evidence showing the older your team is, usually the better. While that didn’t necessarily translate into a ton of victories for Ohio State, there is at least a ton of optimism heading into this season, and Roddy Gayle is a big reason why. The 6 ‘4 “guard from upstate New York, only averaged 4.6 points per game and anyone who didn’t see Gayle play last season is wondering how he can be a breakout candidate in one of the premier basketball leagues in the country.  

The answer is simple however, and that is the fact that Gayle was a major catalyst in Ohio State’s deep run in the Big Ten Tournament. This four-game stretch really showed the rest of the Big Ten just how good this kid can be, with Gayle averaging 12 points per game, while shooting a ridiculous 81% from three. That three-point percentage wasn’t because of a small sample size either, as he got 9/11 from downtown in Ohio State’s 4 Big Ten Tournament games. This included a career high 20 points in the last time we saw Gayle and Ohio State on the floor, in the Big Ten Tournament semi finale against Purdue. While Coach Holtmann has a trio of really talented players still remaining from the Class of 2022, in Gayle, Felix Okpara and Bruce Thornton, it is Gayle who should be labeled as the player to watch for the Buckeyes.  

Ty Rogers – Illinois 

It was apparent from very early on last season that the Illinois just didn’t have the right group of guys in that locker room and Brad Underwood’s team was not meshing well at all. While the Illini did show flashes of greatness by beating teams like Texas and UCLA who were both ranked in the top 10 at the time of defeat, Illinois was never able to put together a consistently great stretch. While it is unknown if they will be able to this season, the hope is that Coach Underwood has a better group of guys focused on winning and winning only. One player that can definitely be put into this category is Rogers, who similar to Gayle didn’t put up a ton of numbers as a true Freshman.  

Only averaging 3.3 points per game, Rogers played a limited role for the Illini, but did show he was capable of making winning plays while on the floor. The Saginaw Michigan native also averaged 4.0 rebounds per game, while shooting 51% from the field. While Illinois did return the duo of Terrance Shannon Jr. and Coleman Hawkins, one thing that this roster is lacking is a true Point Guard. This was also the case last season, however Rogers did show enough playmaking skills that he should have the ball in his hands significantly more compared to a year ago.  

Rogers even made some of the issues Illinois faced last season well known, with some harsh words. “All the guys they brought in (this season), they’re good human beings. Some of the guys we had last year weren’t.” It isn’t every day that you hear comments like these, and it is hard to believe that team chemistry can be any worse this season for the Illini compared to last. Expect Rogers to be a big reason why, with the ball in his hands a lot more.  

Jordan Geronimo – Maryland 

The first transfer featured on the list, Geronimo is someone who is already very familiar with the Big Ten, considering he played the first three seasons of his college career at Indiana. Although he showed a ton of flashes, Geronimo was never able to establish a consistent role at Indiana.  

This was especially the case over the course of the last two seasons under Mike Woodson, with Indiana’s new coach adding a ton of talent from the transfer portal, while Indiana still brought back a rock-solid core from the Archie Miller era, headlined by Trayce Jackson- Davis. Geronimo is another guy who didn’t score a ton last season, only averaging 4.2 points per game, but that shouldn’t be the case with this Maryland team.  

While the Terps do return a really solid core from last season’s NCAA Tournament team including Jahmir Young, Julian Reese and Donta Scott, Maryland will also lose four of their top seven leading scorers from last season as well. This includes both Donald Carey and Hakim Hart on the wing, which should open up a major opportunity for Geronimo. The Indiana transfer is also very familiar with the big stage, considering Geronimo scored a career 15 points in only 19 minutes of action to help Indiana secure their first NCAA Tournament victory since 2016, in their 2022 victory in the big dance over Wyoming. 

In a new environment, where there are plenty of open spots for playing time, Geronimo should flourish for the Terps this season and should also be considered one of the best under the radar additions in the Big Ten this offseason.  

A.J Storr – Wisconsin 

When Rick Pitino first took the job at St. John’s there were only two players in the program that I thought would be absolutely vital for the Johnnies new staff to keep in house. One was Joel Soriano, who was one of the best players in the Big East last season, averaging nearly 15 and 12. The other was rising Sophomore A.J Storr, who couldn’t have played better to end his Freshman season. Storrr was one of the few bright spots for a St. John’s team that had a ton of talent, but couldn’t find a way to consistently win games.  

The IMG Academy product, scored in double digit points in 9 of St. John’s final 13 games to close out last season. In addition, Wisconsin will return just about every key piece from last season’s team that was bound for the NCAA Tournament, prior to Tyler Wahl’s midseason injury and everything just fell apart.  

The Badgers are a team that I will buy into heavily entering 2023-2024, and Storr is a big reason why. Greg Gard has made the NCAA Tournament in six out of his eight seasons coaching the Badgers, and I’d bet on them to get back and then some, after a disappointing 2023.This team has a similar mold to the 2017 Wisconsin team that featured a ton of returning players and was the last time Wisconsin has made the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament.  

The former Red Storm member in Storr was ranked as the #97 ranked recruit in the High School Class of 2022, and showed he can be even better than that based on what he did on the floor last season.  

Caleb Furst – Purdue 

Prior to the start of the 2022 College Basketball season, it was very rare for a true Freshman to come to Purdue and become an immediate contributor right away. A lot of this had to do with the fact that Matt Painter usually likes to have an older team, and have guys play and develop their ways into specific roles. Furst is a unique case in the fact that he looked ready to play right away as a Freshman, and really showed some flashes of greatness. While it is important to note the fact that Furst only played 14.6 minutes per game as a Freshman, he did shoot a ridiculous 42.3% from three.  

While it is reasonable to expect those numbers to take a little bit of a hit as a Sophomore, I’m not sure anyone expected Furst’s three-point percentage to go all the way down to 26.8% as a Sophomore. Purdue did bring in guys like Braden Smith and Foster Loyer, who earned prominent roles as Freshman, and really helped Purdue win a handful of games, especially early in the season. However, it was very surprising to me that Furst never seemed to take on a prominent role as a Sophomore. Furst’s season ended somewhat quietly in the sense that he only played in only 9 minutes in Purdue’s shocking NCAA Tournament loss to Fairleigh Dickinson. The Boilers really could have used his shooting and overall ability on the offensive end in that game, considering how much trouble they were having scoring the basketball.  

With Smith, Loyer and the reigning National Player of the year Zach Edey all returning to school, that leaves two open shots in the starting lineup. In order for Purdue to be at their absolute best, Furst needs to play at least 25 minutes a game and become a consistent contributor. He showed he was more than capable of this specifically as a Freshman, including scoring only 12 points in his 5th career college game against Villanova. This would be the same Villnaova team that made it to the Final 4 in Jay Wright’s last season, and had guys like Collin Gillespie, Justin Moore, Jermaine Samuels and others, who already are or will be professionals.  

Brooks Barnhizer – Northwestern 

Considering what the expectations were going into last season, Northwestern was one of the better stories in College Basketball, with the Wildcats making their first NCAA Tournament since 2017 and only their second appearance in program history. A big reason for that was the duo of Chase Audige and Boo Buie, who combined to average 31.4 points per game. Head Coach Chris Collins did a great job of surrounding Northwestern’s dynamic duo with the proper pieces, which resulted in a possible job saving season for Collins.  

Despite how great last season went however, Northwestern did suffer somewhat in a blow in the offseason, when Audidge decided to pursue the professional route and not return to school. This was with a year of eligibility remaining, but with Audige just turning 24 and becoming one of the best on ball defenders in College Basketball, this shouldn’t have come as that big of a surprise.  

Now enter Brooks Barnhizer, who should be ready for a massive jump entering his Junior year. The 6’6” Wing had a number of breakout performances last season and showed that he’d be the most likely best option to help fill the void left by Auidge. One of these performances included a career high 19 points in Northwestern’s road victory at Ohio State in early February to help cement the Wildcats as a clear-cut NCAA Tournament team. In addition, Barnhizer scored in double digit points in seven out of the Wildcat’s last 8 games to end last season. Despite the loss of Audige, Northwestern has plenty of talent to make back to back NCAA Tournament’s for only the first time in program history and Barnhizer is a major part of that.