Hoosiers Now

Hoosier Favorite No. 43? 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. 43 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

© Mike Fender/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK
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. 43.

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. 43 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 24 hours on the poll and then share results on this story the next day, so keep coming back to see the results.)

Rick Ford (1969-72)

Forward Rick Ford hails from Cloverdale, Ind. and played three seasons for Indiana. He contributed 344 points across his career plus a mighty 82.1 free throw percentage.

Ford was coached by three different coaches including Lou Watson, Jerry Oliver when he took over for a short bit and finally, Bob Knight.

In Ford's career, the Hoosiers never advanced to the NCAA Tournament but did play in the NIT in 1972 where they lost to Princeton.

Ford just barely missed the opportunity to play on Knight's Final Four team in 1973, but rather was a guinea pig for Knight in his first season as the coach found his footing in collegiate basketball before all the success.

Rick Ford
Rick Ford / Indiana University

Jarrad Odle (1998-02)

The 6'8" forward Jarrad Odle out of Swayzee, Ind. was team captain of the 2002 Big Ten regular season championship plus the NCAA tournament runner-up team.

The Hoosiers had a great stint of tournament play during Odle's career with a first round appearance and a pair of second round runs before falling to Maryland in the title game in 2002.

Odle started 29 games for the Hoosiers across his four seasons and totaled 537 points. He shot 49.6 percent from the field, 40 percent from the three-point line and 60.3 percent from the free-throw line.

Jarrad Odle
Jarrad Odle is tapped by Jared Jeffries.  :: © Mike Fender/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK

Jim Roberson (1975-78)

Big man Jim Roberson stands at 6'9" and scored 134 points and tallied 146 rebounds for the Hoosiers. 

In his freshman season, the Rochester, N.Y. native was a part of the 1976 national championship team that defeated Michigan 86-68. The fun wouldn't last as Roberson along with teammates Tommy Baker and Don Cox were let go by Coach Knight after some "team matters" in Dec. 1978.

At the time, Baker and Cox were sophomores while Roberson was rounding out his career as a senior.

Jim Roberson
Jim Roberson / Indiana University

Don Noort (1972-75)

Worth, Ill. native Don Noort was a part of Coach Knight's second recruitment class and a member of Indiana's 1973 Final Four team and 1975 Elite Eight team.

The 1973 appearance versus UCLA would send the Hoosiers to play in a consolation game for third place, which they won, over Providence. 

While at Indiana, Noort contributed 97 points and 86 rebounds in 57 total games played.

Don Noort
Don Noort / IU Athletics

All-time No. 43's at Indiana

Here are all of the players who have worn No. 43 at Indiana:

  • Jarrad Odle — (1998-02)
  • Mike LaFave — (1980-82)
  • Jim Roberson — (1975-78)
  • Don Noort — (1972-75)
  • John Hunter — (1971-73)
  • Rick Ford — (1969-72)
  • John Muirhead — (1966-69)
  • Gary Grieger — (1963-66)
  • Dave Porter — (1960-63)
  • Randy Williams — (1958-59)
  • Pete Obremskey — (1955-58)
  • Cliff Williamson — (1953-56)
  • Art Lehman — (1943-44)
  • Bob Dro — (1938-41)

Vote for your favorite No. 43 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. 43.

'Hoosier' Favorite Results

Check this story every day to see which players won the vote for each respective number.

'Hoosier' Favorite Results Story CLICK HERE

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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