Northwestern men’s basketball 2022-2023 player review: Reserves

Mar 28, 2023 - 4:55 PM

As we continue to look back at Northwestern’s most successful Big Ten season in program history, today we take a look at some of the crowd’s favorite Wildcats — Roy Dixon III, Julian Roper II and Luke Hunger

Roy Dixon III

The senior walk-on always brought Welsh-Ryan to its feet when he stepped on the floor. Dixon, who stands at only 5-foot-10, was only seen in blowouts, mopping up minutes. He saw action in 14 games but never played more than five minutes. The walk-on scored two points against Chicago State, which tied a career-high. Even though he did not make a significant impact on the court, the walk-on constantly provided leadership and mentorship to younger members of the program, and he will always be able to hold onto the memories of “we want Roy” chants.

Julian Roper II

It was a disappointing year for Roper, who came into the 2022-2023 campaign after starting the final 15 games the season prior. Roper was an active member of the ‘Cats’ rotation throughout non-conference play, averaging nearly 20 minutes a game. The sophomore tallied career-highs this season, scoring 12 points against UIC and notching 33 minutes in Ann Arbor against the Wolverines. However, Roper’s strong start came to a screeching halt when he sprained his ankle in the first half of a January game against Wisconsin. After missing three games, the Detroit native returned against the Wolverines but re-aggravated his ankle in the final minutes of the ‘Cats’ loss. The injury sidelined him for the rest of the season and, subsequently, Roper’s career wearing purple and white. On March 27, Roper announced that he was entering the transfer portal, ending his tenure at Northwestern.

Luke Hunger

The freshman’s first year of college basketball took a wrong left turn early in the season. After a solid start as a rotational big man, including an eight-point, three-rebound performance against DePaul, Hunger’s season came to an end as a foot injury left him in a walking boot for most of the regular season. The Canadian took a medical redshirt and still has four years of eligibility left.