Brent Yarina, BTN.com Senior Editor, October 25, 2012

BTN.com's Brent Yarina's 2012-13 preseason Big Ten Player Rankings is down to the final two players. Catch up on the first eight installments here. Each post includes player stats and one video highlight from the 2011-12 season. Once the season tips off, Yarina will release a weekly Player Rankings every Monday. Up next, at No. 2: Michigan's Trey Burke.

Michigan's Trey Burke
US Presswire

THE COUNTDOWN
No. 10: Jared Berggren, Sr., Wisconsin
No. 9: Branden Dawson, So., Michigan State
No. 8: Keith Appling, Jr., Michigan State
No. 7: Drew Crawford, Sr., Northwestern
No. 6: Aaron Craft, Jr., Ohio State
No. 5: Tim Frazier, Sr., Penn State
No. 4: Trevor Mbakwe, Sr., Minnesota
No. 3: Deshaun Thomas, Jr., Ohio State

Burke's career stats:

Per Game Team G GS MPG PPG RPG APG SPG BPG TOPG PFPG FG% 3P% FT%
2011-12 Mich 34 33 36.1 14.8 3.5 4.6 0.9 0.4 2.8 1.6 .433 .348 .744
Career 34 33 36.1 14.8 3.5 4.6 0.9 0.4 2.8 1.6 .433 .348 .744

Why he?s No. 2: Put it this way: A year ago at this time, everyone worried what Michigan would do without Darius Morris, the team's star point guard who left early for the NBA. Burke not only silenced those fears on his way to earning All-Big Ten honors and winning a share of  Big Ten Freshman of the Year, he pretty much made people forget about Morris. A point guard who contributed across the board – even on the boards (3.5 rpg) – Burke outperformed any and all expectations. Now a sophomore, he should be bigger, faster, stronger and smarter. And he has a plethora of weapons at his disposal.

Why he may not live up to ranking: There's a ton of top-tier talent in the Big Ten, so even if Burke dominates, there are several guys worthy of this ranking. Another thing: Burke boasts several new weapons, including freshmen Mitch McGary and Glenn Robinson III, among others, so there could be a transition period. It's not likely, but the possibility is there.

BTN.com web editor Brent Yarina covers football and men's basketball for BTN.com. He writes the popular uniform feature "Clothes Call," which also focuses on the latest cosmetic changes across Big Ten arenas and stadiums. Read all of his work here. You can subscribe to Yarina's RSS feed and follow him on Twitter @BTNBrentYarina.