Ofri Naveh Plans to Wear Recently Unbanned Jersey Number for WVU

Ofri Naveh, WVU basketball’s recent signee, is planning on wearing No. 9 for the Mountaineers this upcoming season. Naveh’s new number was recently unbanned by the NCAA in a passed rule this summer.

Ofri Naveh will wear No. 9 according to WVU’s team website

— Ethan Bock (@ethanbock_) August 9, 2023

Before this upcoming season, players were prohibited from wearing jersey numbers No. 6, 7, 8 and 9. The NCAA implemented the rule before the 1957-58 season. The rule was put in place to help officials communicate to the scorer’s table so they weren’t using both hands to combine numbers.

According to the NCAA’s modified rule, players are allowed to wear No. 0-99 on their jerseys. There are no limits anymore.

Naveh officially signed with the Mountaineers on Wednesday morning after committing two weeks ago.

“Ofri has really good skills for his size, especially guard skills. He’s young, and he’s going to continue to develop his body and increase his strength,” WVU interim HC Josh Eilert said. “He has a really good first step to get by the opposition. Ofri played well for Israel this summer, and we look forward to Ofri arriving here and joining our Mountaineer basketball family.”

Naveh averaged 11.0 points, 7.1 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 1.9 steals and 1.0 blocks through seven games. The 6-foot-7 forward shot 54% from the field, 47% from three and 67% from the free throw line. Naveh played an average of 29.8 minutes per contest.

Naveh has a unique play style as the Israeli native plays like a guard but is the size of a forward. Naveh can score at all three levels on the floor. Naveh most recently played for Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv‘s U18 team this past March.

Naveh has four years of eligibility remaining.