The Big 12 has no shortage of star power heading into the college basketball season, and now the national buzz is starting to catch up. On3’s Jamie Shaw dropped his list of the top ten players most likely to win National Player of the Year, and the Big 12 showed up in a big way. Three of the top five names on the board come straight out of the conference, and that says plenty about the talent level this league is working with right now.
Kansas freshman Darryn Peterson landed at No. 3 on the list, right behind Michigan’s Yaxel Lendeborg and Duke’s Cam Boozer. Peterson is one of the most polished high school scorers to come through the Big 12 pipeline in recent memory, and even though he hasn’t played a college game yet, the expectations are sky high in Lawrence. Bill Self has coached his share of high-level talent, and the early read is that Peterson might be the next one up.
Right behind him at No. 4 is Texas Tech’s JT Toppin. Toppin has turned himself into one of the most reliable frontcourt pieces in the country, and now he’s starting to get recognized for it nationally. He’s physical, consistent, and can stretch the floor just enough to make teams pay. With Christian Anderson running the show in Lubbock, Toppin is in a perfect spot to build on what he’s already done and take a run at some serious hardware this year.
Coming in at No. 5 is BYU freshman AJ Dybantsa. This one is eye-opening because it shows how quickly BYU’s brand has grown since joining the Big 12. Dybantsa was one of the biggest recruiting wins of the cycle and has the kind of upside that grabs national attention fast. For a program trying to plant its flag in a new league, having a player ranked this high on a national watch list sends a message.
This isn’t just about three guys getting some preseason love. It’s about what the Big 12 is building. The league has real contenders with real stars, and now those stars are being mentioned in the same breath as names from Duke and Michigan. If these projections hold, the Player of the Year race won’t just run through various blue bloods; it’ll run through some new bloods gyms, too.
