Power Rankings: Players Week 3/9

1. Nik Stauskas – up 1 – Stauskas is the best offensive player in the conference. He shoots, he passes, he handles, he does it all. He also led his team to the Big Ten Title. Nik has had a great year and should reap the rewards. I’m sure the being ranked 1 on my power rankings isn’t the biggest honor he will receive this season, but it’s one more. He scored 24 points against Illinois when Michigan clinched the Big Ten Championship. He also scored 21 against Indiana this week.

2. Gary Harris – down 1 – Harris has had a great year, and is the best player in the Big Ten in my opinion. He plays exceptional on both ends of the court, and is a guy the Spartans can rely on every night. He might not be ranked 1 on my board, but the NBA draft boards have him as high as anybody in the conference. This week he scored 12 points in just 23 minutes in a relatively easy victory over the Hawkeyes, and added 12 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists against Ohio State.

3. Kevin Ferrell – same – Yogi is one of the most talented players in the conference on one of the worst teams in the conference. Crean has given Yogi the green light to take over whenever he feels he needs to this season, and he seems to feel the need to often. Yogi had an all around week: scoring 10 points, grabbing 8 rebounds, and dishing 5 assists against Nebraska. In a highly contested game verse Michigan, he scored 16 points and dished out 8 assists.

4. Roy Marble – same – Marble is one of the top players in the conference, and was rewarded for his good play with First-Team All-Conference Honors this postseason. Marble scored 24 points and dished out 5 assists against Michigan State this week. When Iowa match up against Illinois he was held to just 8 points and 4 assists.

5. Terran Petteway – up 1 – Petteway is the biggest reason Nebraska has had a break out season this year. Time and time again he proves he is one of the top players in the conference, and was rewarded by earning First-Team All-Conference Honors this week. Against Indiana he had 13 points and versus Wisconsin he had 26 points and 10 rebounds.

6. D.J. Newbill – up 1 – Newbill has continued to improve throughout his career at Penn State. He finally has begun to impress me and get the respect he deserves from me. In a blow-out win at Northwester, Newbill scored 12 points and grabbed 4 rebounds. Later in the week against Minnesota he scored 24 points.

7. Adreian Payne – up 5 – AP is one of the most talented centers in college basketball. I think he represents all that is right with collegiate sports, I love the way he stayed and actually improved on his game. This week he scored 14 points and grabbed 4 rebounds versus Iowa, and scored 23 points and grabbed 8 rebounds versus Ohio State.

8. Frank Kaminsky – up 5 – Kaminsky has really started to carry the load for Wisconsin as of late. He is leading them back to where they were at the start of the season, really good. This week he had 22 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 blocks and steals against Purdue. He had another solid game against Nebraska, boasting 14 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 blocks.

9. A.J. Hammons – stayed – Hammons is the best player for a poor Purdue club. When everyone game plans against Purdue, they think stop A.J. That hurts him for his all league rankings, and his power rankings. This week against Wisconsin he had a double-double, scoring 11 points, grabbing 11 rebounds, and blocking 4 shots. Against Northwestern he scored 13 points and had 4 rebounds.

10. Caris LeVert – down 2 – LeVert has been a surprise to me this season. I knew Stauskas was a stud, and that Robinson would improve, but I never expected LeVert to have the season he has been having. He is the toughest player to guard one on one on the Michigan team, and I think he’s their best perimeter defender. This week he scored 15 points and grabbed 4 rebounds against Illinois, and had another solid performance against Indiana with 13 points and 4 rebounds.

11. DeAndre Mathieu – up 3 – The little man is one of my favorite players in the conference. He is a joy to watch, and he plays a great point guard. This week especially, Minnesota only had one game and it was agiaist Penn State; he scored 16 points, dished 6 assists and nabbed 3 steals.

12. Tim Frazier – down 2 – Frazier’s final week of Big Ten regular season basketball has come to an end. The league will have a tough time replacing such a fierce competitor. I expect Frazier to be able to play professionally overseas, maybe a Russell Westbrook of Europe if you will. In his final week in the Big Ten he scored 11 points, dished 7 assists, and grabbed 5 rebounds against Northwestern. Against Minnesota he added 14 points.

13. LaQuinton Ross – up from HM – Ross has carried this Ohio State team offensively as of late. Something this team was in desperate need of. They have always been a great defensive club, and have good leadership with Craft, but they need a go to scorer. Ross seems to the guy. Against the Spartans, Ross dropped 22 points and grabbed 5 rebounds.

14. Sam Dekker – down 9 – Dekker had an off week offensively. Wisconsin will need him to step up his game if they are going to make a deep post season run. Dekker was held to just 5 points and 5 rebounds against Purdue, and he continued his slumping week against Nebraska, with only 6 points and 2 rebounds.

15. Aaron White – down 4 – White is one of the toughest players in the conference. He’s long, plays great defense, and rebounds well. However, he had a tough week, against MSU he had 10 points and against Illinois he had 12 points and 8 rebounds.

Honorable Mention:
Austin Hollins, Glenn Robinson III, Aaron Craft, Drew Crawford, Noah Vonleh