Kansas basketball: Ranking each of the Jayhawks one and done players

By Joshua Schulman | Feb 18, 2024, 4:03 PM CST

Nov 30, 2013; Paradise Island, BAHAMAS; Kansas Jayhawks guard Andrew Wiggins (22) and center Joel Embiid (21) react after a score during the game against the UTEP Miners at the 2013 Battle 4 Atlantis in the Imperial Arena at the Atlantis Resort. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports /

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Ben McLemore #23 of the Kansas Jayhawks (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) /

No. 3: Ben McLemore (2011-2013)

Kansas basketball career stats: 37 games, 15.9 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 2.0 APG, 49.5% FG

If you read the primer to our list, you might recall us saying that there was an exception on this list. Well, it’s Ben McLemore.

McLemore didn’t spend one year in Lawrence, because he had to redshirt in 2011-12 after being deemed academically ineligible. However, he committed to Kansas out of high school, played his one and only season with the Jayhawks, and became a lottery pick in the NBA Draft a few months later. I think that should suffice for our initial definition of one-and-done.

He might not have been as dominant as Embiid on the court, but there are very few freshmen in college basketball history that came in and performed as well as he did. McLemore nearly posted a 50-40-90 campaign and was the best player on the team that was a 3-point heave away from a potential national championship.

In addition to being named to the All-Big 12 First Team, McLemore was given Consensus All-American Second Team Honors. He could shoot it, drive to the rim, or run the floor as a secondary ball handler. If I’m being honest, I was confident that he’d become a 20-point-per-game scorer in the NBA.

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