Kansas Jayhawks Number Rankings: Ten

Let's see how Jalen Wilson stacks up against the best KU players to ever wear number 10

Today we’re starting a unique new series of comparisons. You’ve probably seen rankings of all kinds concerning KU basketball: All-decade teams, best of the Roy Williams or Bill Self era, best players at given positions, and so on and on and on. Today, I’m looking to start something a bit different. We’re going to rank everyone  on this season’s KU roster who played significant minutes against other players throughout KU’s illustrious hoops heritage that wore their same number, well, starting when Larry Brown took over as head coach.

It was a little tougher this season as there were so many newbies on the roster and so many guys got less playing time than they’ll receive in the future, and many will be gone from the Kansas program entirely, but we’ll give each player his fair shake. If we’d done this before the season, some of these comparisons would look quite different. Some, like today’s first player, jumped up dramatically after this season ended.

Look at it this way, where would #11 Remy Martin have ranked before his magical performances in the 2022 NCAA Tournament? Pretty low I’d guess, but while still behind Jacque Vaughn and Aaron Miles, he leaped over Josh Jackson and a serious debate (for those that believe that silverware is the end all, be all) could be made that he leapfrogged Devon Dotson as well. Those heroics truly boosted his stock, but alas, he’s not on this team, so we can posit all we want.

Here’s how it will go: I’ll list the guys who wore the same number, give a few blurbs about each player, and ultimately find a place where the current Jayhawk ranks, and I’ll try to keep recency bias out of it, so these rankings should be as unbiased as possible.

Contents

1. Other recent number tens:
2. How does Jalen Wilson stack up?
3. Final Rankings:

Today we’ll start with Jalen Wilson, who wore number 10.

Other recent number tens:

Calvin Rayford. Three seasons, 1992-1996.

The diminutive guard averaged 1.5 points and 2.3 assists in his three seasons at KU.

Kirk Hinrich. Four seasons, 1999-2003.

Twice an All-Big XII first team selection, Kirk Hinrich needs no introduction around these parts. He played in two Final Fours. This guy is the undisputed best player on this list of former players.

Jeremy Case. Four seasons, 2003-2008.

Never really fulfilled his potential as he was always reported to be a great shooter at practice. Maybe his coaching chops are better than his playing ability. We’ll see.

Brennan Bechard. Three seasons, 2006-2009. He only wore 10 for one year.

A walk on, so not much to say here.

Tyshawn Taylor. Four seasons, 2008-2012. TT wore number 15 in his freshman season.
This is a guy that probably took more grief than any player of the recent era and when you look back at his career, you have to admit that he was pretty good. He averaged 10.8 points and 3.9 assists per game. Plus, he and Thomas Robinson basically willed that 2012 team to the national title game.

Evan Manning. Four seasons, 2012-2016.

Another walk on.

Naadir Tharp. Three seasons, 2011-2013. He wore number 1 for his first two seasons.

Naadir was kind of an enigma in his time at KU although his last season at KU was his finest when he averaged 8.5 points and five assists per game. He wore the number 10 uniform that season.

Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk. Four seasons, 2014-2018.

The Ukrainian wonder is known for a few things in his KU career besides that time he obviously completely legally beat K-State at the buzzer. For example, Svi was crucial in Kansas’s Elite Eight overtime win over Duke in 2018. Over his Kansas career, he canned 41% from deep.

Throwback to two years ago when Svi didn’t travel pic.twitter.com/6RuT6WS5Ye

— Braiden Turner (@bturner23) February 25, 2019

How does Jalen Wilson stack up?

This group is loaded and before the season, it would’ve been a lock with Hinrich taking the prize and Svi and Tyshawn battling it out behind him for the number two spot. Coming into this 22-23 season, Jalen Wilson was probably the fourth best number 10 since 1983, even with his national title. At that time, Jalen averaged 11.1 points and 7.4 rebounds per game in his two years at Kansas.

And then came 2022-23. Wilson averaged 19.7 points per game and 8.4 rebounds per contest in the regular season, leading the Big 12 in both categories. He was the unanimous Big XII Player of the Year and a first team All-American. Solid, to say the least. He finished his 22-23 season at 20.1 points and 8.3 rebounds per game and over the course of his entire KU career, averaged 14.2 and 7.7. He’ll have his number 10 unveiled in the Allen Fieldhouse rafters before long.

In total, Jalen Wilson is very comparable to Kirk Hinrich, something that you’d never have envisioned writing when he first arrived on campus. Because he completed a four year career, Hinrich was slightly more impressive and gets the nod as the best number 10 in Kansas history. Jalen Wilson and his national championship come in second.

Final Rankings:

1. Kirk Hinrich
2. Jalen Wilson
3. Tyshawn Taylor
4. Svi Mykhailiuk
5. Naadir Tharpe
6. Jeremy Case
7. Calvin Rayford
8. Brennan Bechard and Evan Manning

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