NCAA Basketball: Top 10 players to wear jersey No. 1 in 2023-24 season

10. Kel’el Ware (Indiana)

There was a lot of hype surrounding Ware as a freshman and it’s fair to say he didn’t live up to it. Considered one of the best recruits in the country, he had a limited role, mostly off the bench for an Oregon team that was certainly considered a disappointment. Not settling for more of the same, he opted to transfer and joined Indiana where his sophomore season certainly caught more attention.

Ware fit well into Mike Woodson’s system, averaging 15.9 points and 9.9 rebounds as the full-time starting center. The Hoosiers had a mediocre season as a team, especially on offense, but that wasn’t Ware’s doing. He earned All-Big Ten honors and was among the league’s best scorers, rebounders, and shot blockers in a much more complete sophomore season.

It was a season that obviously included plenty of double-doubles and a slew of 20-point efforts during conference play. Ware scored at least 26 points in three of Indiana’s final four regular season games and also had a 22-point, 16-rebound affair against Northwestern a few weeks earlier. He looked more like the 5-star prospect that arrived in Eugene two seasons ago, though it’s a shame that this Indiana team as a whole couldn’t play better basketball.