Hoosiers Now

Hoosier Favorite No. 24? Picking Favorite Indiana Basketball Players, One Number At a Time

There are no names on the Indiana basketball jerseys, just a number, and those digits mean a lot to all Hoosiers fans. We want to know who your favorites are, resuming with the No. 24 in Indiana basketball history that's meant the most to you. Pick your favorite, and we'll do this every day for the rest of the summer.

Haley Jordan

USA Today
In this story:

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Welcome back to our summer series where Hoosier basketball fans can vote on their favorite Indiana players to ever wear each number. Today, we resume with all the best to wear No. 24.

Hoosier favorite?

Every day we're going to give you four choices along with a short player bio to pick your favorite Hoosier who wore a certain number.

Here are your four No. 24 jersey choices in alphabetical order so that we're not showing bias. Be sure to take the poll below via Twitter.

(Editor's Note: We'll take results for 48 hours on the poll and then share results on this story the next day, so keep coming back to see the results.)

Steve Ahlfeld (1972-75)

Guard Steve Ahlfeld from Wabash, Ind. played in 64 games for the Hoosiers shooting 44.6 percent from the field and 63.9 percent from the free-throw line. 

One of former head coach Bob Knight's first recruits, Ahlfeld was a part of two NCAA Tournament appearances including a Final Four run in 1973 and an Elite Eight finish in 1975.

Ahlfeld and the Hoosiers won the Big Ten regular season championship during all three seasons of Ahlfeld's collegiate basketball career going 76-12.

Steve Ahlfeld
Steve Ahlfeld / IU Athletics

Michael Lewis (1996-00)

Jasper, Ind. native Michael Lewis played 3,163 minutes for the Hoosiers scoring 887 points and totaling 545 assists, which ranks second all-time in program history behind Yogi Ferrell's 633.

The guard was a part of four NCAA Tournament appearances, two first round trips and two second round runs during his Hoosiers career.

Following Indiana, Lewis had a brief professional career before heading off to Texas Tech to serve as assistant coach under Knight. Lewis had several other coaching stints with Stephen F. Austin State University, Eastern Illinois, Butler, Nebraska, UCLA and now Ball State.

As of 2022, Lewis is the head coach for the Cardinals' basketball team and works with former Hoosier Jamal Meeks, who is assistant coach. 

Michael Lewis
Michael Lewis / USA Today

Daryl Thomas (1983-87)

From Westchester, Ill., Daryl Thomas left his mark on the Hoosiers as the 49th all-time leading scorer with 1,095 points across four seasons and 106 games played.

The forward/center was a member of three Hoosiers NCAA Tournament teams best known for the 1987 NCAA championship team that he co-captained. Indiana defeated Syracuse by one point for the Hoosiers' fifth NCAA title and Coach Bob Knight's third with Indiana.

After college, Thomas was selected as the 120th overall pick in the 1987 NBA draft by the Sacramento Kings. He didn't end up making the team and instead played overseas for 13 seasons.

Thomas later went on to coach basketball at Montini Catholic High School nearby Chicago. In March of 2018, Thomas tragically died of a heart attack.

After Thomas passed, Knight reflected on Thomas's unselfish playing style.

"Ever since that 1987 championship game, I've always called that the greatest single play I ever had a kid make: giving up the ball and setting the screen that got the man open for the shot that won a national championship."

Daryl Thomas
Daryl Thomas / USA Today

Randy Wittman (1978-83)

Indianapolis, Ind. native Randy Wittman ranks 16th on Indiana's all-time leading scorers lists with 1,549 points. He also totaled 405 rebounds, 309 assists and 128 steals. 

Wittman was a part of four NCAA Tournament appearances including the 1981 NCAA title game where Indiana defeated No. 2-seed North Carolina 63-50 for its fourth title and Coach Bob Knight's second with the Hoosiers.

At the half, the Hoosiers were trailing until Wittman hit a corner shot at the halftime buzzer to set the tone for the second half.

In 1983, Wittman was named the Big Ten Player of the Year and second team All-American following the Hoosiers' Sweet 16 run.

Wittman was selected as the 22nd overall pick in the 1983 NBA draft by the Washington Bullets, but his rights were traded to the Atlanta Hawks. He later had a short stint with the Sacramento Kings before becoming a fringe player with the Indiana Pacers. 

Wittman wasn't done with the game yet as he went onto a long NBA coaching career with several teams including serving as head coach for the Cleveland Cavaliers, Minnesota Timberwolves and later the Washington Wizards.

Randy Wittman
Randy Wittman / USA Today

All-time No. 24's at Indiana

Here are all of the players who have worn No. 24 at Indiana:

  • Vijay Blackmon — (2017-19)
  • Grant Gelon — (2016-17)
  • Jackson Tharp — (2015-16)
  • Jeff Howard — (2010-14)
  • Steven Gambles — (2008-10)
  • Brandon McGee — (2007-08)
  • Robert Vaden — (2004-06)
  • Michael Lewis — (1996-00)
  • Matt Nover — (1989-93)
  • Daryl Thomas — (1983-87)
  • Randy Wittman — (1978-83)
  • Steve Ahlfeld — (1972-75)
  • Dave Shepherd — (1971-72)
  • Kim Pemberton — (1970-72)
  • Ken Morgan — (1968-71)
  • Bobby Kent — (1967-68)
  • Vern Pfaff — (1963-67)
  • Ray Pavy — (1960-61)
  • Herbie Lee — (1958-60)
  • Ray Ball — (1955-58)
  • Sherrill Marginet — (1953-54)
  • Jack Wright — (1952-53)
  • John Wood — (1951-52, 1954-55)
  • Tyrie Robbins — (1949-51)
  • Ted Kauffman — (1948-49)
  • Byard Hey — (1947-49)
  • Zygmund Belsowski — (1944-45)
  • Herod Toon — (1943-44)
  • Cliff Forsyth — (1940-41)
  • John Torphy — (1939-40)
  • Herm Schaefer — (1938-41)
  • William Johnson — (1938-39)

Vote for your favorite No. 24 on Twitter

You'll be able to vote on Twitter for your favorite player with each number. Here's the link to today's poll for No. 24. 

Related stories on Indiana Basketball:

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Haley Jordan
HALEY JORDAN

Haley Jordan is a Sports Illustrated/FanNation video director, staff writer, host and reporter for Hoosiers Now, Fastball and Fastbreak sites. She is a graduate from Indiana University with degrees in Sports Broadcast Journalism and Spanish.

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