The Big Ten lost a lot of star power from last season, leaving people to wonder whether the conference will be as strong in 2016-17 as it usually is.

Gone are Michigan State all-American and Big Ten player of the year Denzel Valentine, as well as three other members of last season’s five-man first-team all-conference squad: Yogi Ferrell of Indiana, Jarrod Uthoff of Iowa and A.J. Hammons of Purdue.

However, the conference benefited from the new rule that allows players to test their NBA draft status in the spring but return to school if they are not slotted high enough. Nigel Hayes of Wisconsin, Caleb Swanigan of Purdue, Melo Trimble of Maryland, James Blackmon Jr. of Indiana and Peter Jok of Iowa all declar...

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