Pac-12 Spotlight: Top five players heading into this season
With the college basketball season quickly approaching, Rivals.com basketball recruiting analyst Travis Graf highlights the top five players from each Power Five conference heading into the 2022-23 campaign. Today, he takes a look at the Pac-12.
MORE IN THIS SERIES: Top five in the ACC | Big Ten | Big 12
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2023 Rankings: Rivals150 | Team | Position
2024 Rankings: Rivals150 | Team
2025 Rankings: Top 40
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Jaime Jaquez Jr. - UCLA
UCLA senior wing Jaime Jaquez Jr. is considered by many to be one of the best returning players in college basketball this season. Jacquez was the leading scorer on a UCLA team that finished second in the Pac-12 a year ago and finished just outside of the top 10 in the final polls.
The former four-star prospect already has two all-conference selections under his belt and it would be silly to doubt that he adds another this season.
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Drew Peterson - USC
Drew Peterson had the best season of his career last year for the Trojans and was awarded with an all-conference selection. Statistically speaking, the former three-star wing improved across the board as a true senior, scoring a career-high 12.4 points per game and showing a significant increase from behind the three-point line, knocking down 41% of his outside attempts.
For USC to make a run at the conference title, he’ll need to make another leap yet again.
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Tyger Campbell - UCLA
Former four-star point guard Tyger Campbell has been a steady hand for Mick Cronin at the point guard spot over the last three seasons at UCLA, starting all 96 games that he’s appeared in.
In his first few seasons he locked in multiple all-conference selections and received an NCAA All-Region team honor. His outside shooting numbers took a huge jump in his junior season, and he projects to have the highest offensive usage of his career this year.
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Harrison Ingram - Stanford
Harrison Ingram, a former five-star, has the highest Rivals ranking of any player on this list. The Stanford sophomore flirted with the NBA Draft this past offseason but ultimately withdrew his name. He now is being projected anywhere from a late first-round pick to early second-rounder in 2023.
Ingram, a do-it-all player for the Cardinal, was named the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year a year ago, and he should see an even bigger role this season.
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Azoulas Tubelis - Arizona
Lithuania native Azoulas Tubelis returns to Arizona after a very strong start to his career in the first two seasons. Nearly 7-feet tall, Tubelis provides a strong inside presence for the Wildcats, and he's a guy that can step outside as well.
He made the all-conference team a year ago, and received all-freshman honors two seasons ago. Tubelis is one of the most skilled players in the conference, and he is a player that head coach Tommy Lloyd can use in a variety of ways.