NCAA Basketball: Top 10 players to wear jersey No. 3 in 2023-24 season
By Joey Loose
![Mar 31, 2024; Detroit, MI, USA; Tennessee Volunteers guard Dalton Knecht (3) controls the ball defended by Purdue Boilermakers guard Braden Smith (3) in the second half during the NCAA Tournament Midwest Regional Championship at Little Caesars Arena. Mandatory Credit: Lon Horwedel-USA TODAY Sports Mar 31, 2024; Detroit, MI, USA; Tennessee Volunteers guard Dalton Knecht (3) controls the ball defended by Purdue Boilermakers guard Braden Smith (3) in the second half during the NCAA Tournament Midwest Regional Championship at Little Caesars Arena. Mandatory Credit: Lon Horwedel-USA TODAY Sports](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_6379,h_3588,x_0,y_0/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/184/01hyh5trf1jcnjhrm9da.jpg)
Honorable Mentions
Jordan Dingle (St. John’s)
A significant star at Penn in the Ivy League in recent years, Dingle transferred to St. John’s for his senior season and became an important weapon for the Red Storm right off the bat. He averaged 11.6 points per game, which may have been a big downturn from his work with the Quakers, but he was still doing steady work against much tougher Big East foes. Not bad work for the former Ivy League Player of the Year on a 20-win team.
Dawson Garcia (Minnesota)
Garcia is a former Top 40 prospect who spent a season each at Marquette and North Carolina before settling into a more significant role with the Golden Gophers. As a senior, he just averaged 17.6 points and 6.7 rebounds for his most productive year of his career, earning Second Team All-Big Ten honors in the process. Minnesota didn’t exactly excel this season, but Garcia was a big part of what they did accomplish.
Dae Dae Grant (Duquesne)
Previously a star guard at Miami-Ohio, Grant did some pretty awesome stuff at the tail end of his career at Duquesne. In his fifth and final collegiate campaign he’d average 16.4 points and 3.4 rebounds per game, getting all-conference honors yet again. More importantly, Grant won A-10 Tournament MVP and scored a critical 19 points in the Dukes’ upset over BYU in the NCAA Tournament, ending his career on quite the high note.
Pelle Larsson (Arizona)
He may not have been the biggest name on some of these recent Arizona teams but Larsson has been an important piece for the Wildcats in recent years. He’s fresh off his finest season as a senior, putting up 12.8 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 3.7 assists while making 42% of his 3-pointers and 52% of his field goal attempts. Larson found his way onto the Second Team All-Pac-12 and helped guide the Wildcats back to the Sweet Sixteen.
Yaxel Lendeborg (UAB)
After playing three years at Arizona Western College, Lendeborg transferred up to the D1 level this past offseason, finding quite the landing spot at UAB. He became a starting forward and a major weapon for the Blazers, averaging 13.8 points and 10.6 rebounds with great metrics on both sides of the ball. Not only did he finish among the national leaders in rebounding, he was AAC Defensive Player of the Year and Tournament MVP in a successful first season in the AAC for UAB.