NCAA Basketball: Top 10 players to wear jersey No. 32 in 2023-24 season
By Joey Loose
10. Jalen Celestine (California)
Celestine is an intriguing prospect who went from New York all the way out to California for his collegiate journey. He began his time with the Golden Bears back in 2020 and showed potential as an underclassman. After missing his third season due to medical issues, Celestine was back on the court this year under new head coach Mark Madsen and put together a pretty nice all-around effort after missing the previous season.
Though he’d miss a few games for the Golden Bears, Celestine managed to start most of the games while putting up 8.7 points and 3.2 rebounds per game. These weren’t exactly eye-popping figures, but Celestine did play a role in a nice step forward for this California program. A 6th place finish in their final season in Pac-12 represents progress, and Celestine was definitely part of that equation.
After scoring 21 points against St. Thomas on opening night, Celestine settled into a less explosive, yet still important role with the Golden Bears. He missed nearly a month starting in mid-November but later had 14 points against Arizona and 13 in the road rematch a month later. You’re not going to find a slew of high-scoring affairs, but Celestine provided solid play and will look to build on that next year at Baylor.