Andy Katz Ranks Jaden Ivey, Trevion Williams in College Basketball's Top-25 Returning Players

Ivey, who will enter his sophomore season this year, was ranked No. 8 on the list. Williams came in at No. 17 after forgoing the 2021 NBA Draft in favor of returning to Purdue. 

During his freshman season, Ivey appeared in 23 games for the Boilermakers, which included 12 starts. He averaged 11.1 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game. However, during the team's finals six games, Ivey averaged 18.2 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.7 assists per contest.

His play garnered recognition as he was named to the 2020-21 Big Ten All-Freshman team.

This summer, Ivey led the United States FIBA World Cup U19 Team to a gold medal in Latvia. He averaged 12.3 points, 3.0 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.6 steals in just 16.5 minutes throughout the tournament. He ranked second on the team in scoring and was named to the FIBA U19 All-Star 5 Team. 

Williams, a senior, was a first-team All-Big Ten selection and finished last year as one of five finalists for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award, which is given to the nation's top center.

He averaged 15.5 points, 9.1 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game while recording 11 double-doubles. Williams had six games of 20 points and 10 rebounds, which ranked third-most nationally for a major-college player. 

Williams became the ninth Big Ten player in the last 30 years to average at least 15 points, nine rebounds and two assists per game and was one of six players nationally to do so.

Here's a look at Katz's full list, which includes six Big Ten players: 

• 25. Tyson Etienne, Wichita State
• 24. Matt Bradley, San Diego State
• 23. Armando Bacot, North Carolina
• 22. Julian Champagnie, St. John’s
• 21. Scottie Pippen Jr., Vanderbilt
• 20. Chris Lykes, Arkansas
• 19. Kellan Grady, Kentucky
• 18. Kevin Obanor, Texas Tech
• 17. Trevion Williams, Purdue
• 16. Sahvir Wheeler, Kentucky
• 15. Garrison Brooks, Mississippi State
• 14. Andrew Jones, Texas
• 13. Collin Gillespie, Villanova
• 12. Remy Martin, Kansas
• 11. Max Abmas, Oral Roberts
• 10. Jaime Jaquez Jr., UCLA
• 9. Buddy Boeheim, Syracuse
• 8. Jaden Ivey, Purdue
• 7. E.J. Liddell, Ohio State
• 6. Marcus Carr, Texas
• 5. Trayce Jackson-Davis, Indiana
• 4. Hunter Dickinson, Michigan
• 3. Kofi Cockburn, Illinois
• 2. Drew Timme, Gonzaga
• 1. Johnny Juzang, UCLA

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