Marquette Basketball Announced Jersey Numbers For The 2017-18 Freshmen

Shortly after Marquette Golden Eagles announced that Greg Elliott had signed his letter of intent, the athletic department also announced the jersey numbers for all four members of the 2017 recruiting class.

Jamal Cain - #23

Obviously, the most recent Golden Eagle to wear #23 was Jajuan Johnson, who wore it for each of the past three seasons after wearing #5 as a freshman. #23 has been very popular since the turn of the century, going just one season since 2003-04 without being used. Wesley Matthews, Dwight Buycks, and Jake Thomas all wore it for MU, and historically speaking, Jim Boylan and Michael Wilson also used that number.

Ike Eke - #13

You might remember the most recent player to wear #13, as Henry Ellenson wore it for his one year with Marquette. There have only been eight players in program history who have worn #13, and three of them - Ellenson, Matt Carlino, and Vander Blue - each only wore it for one season. There was a looooooong stretch where it went unused between Robert Pierce in 1942-45 and Walter Downing in 1984-86, and because of his tenure with the team and the number, Roney Eford is probably the best Marquette player to wear #13.

Greg Elliott - #5

Much like #23, #5 has been very popular over the last 20 years or so. Chris Crawford, Scott Merritt, Dan Fitzgerald, Junior Cadougan, Jajuan Johnson, and most recently Sandy Cohen have worn it. Before that? Not so much. Just two players wore that number previous to Crawford in 1993-97, and you have to go pre-World War II to find them: Albert Cafone in 1937-39 and Bill Komenich in 1939-42.

Theo John - #4

Theo John has a very real opportunity to become the best Golden Eagle to ever wear #4. Right now, it’s pretty clearly Cordell Henry, because his nearest competition is John Cliff and Todd Mayo. Yeah, slim pickings for sure here, even with eight other guys wearing it. Fun Fact: John Ellenson, aka Henry Ellenson’s dad, wore #4 in his two years of hoops at Marquette.

In case you missed it, Harry Froling will be wearing #21 after he finishes his redshirt year at the end of the fall semester. Much like Theo John, Froling could easily become the best ever to wear #21, as the title currently belongs to Dave Erickson, who is #18 on the all-time rebounding list. Other contenders for the title of “best to wear it” include Ulice Payne and Mike Bargen.