Tag: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award

Colin Castleton named to preseason Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award watch list

Castleton had a breakout junior season, and he’s expected to be one of the nation’s best centers in 2021-22.

Florida’s basketball team has a lot of outgoing talent to replace in 2021-22. Following the loss to Oral Roberts in the NCAA Tournament earlier this year, the program saw six players leave through either the transfer portal or the draft.

The Gators will rely on a lot of newcomers after adding four experienced players in the transfer portal, but they will have one piece of continuity: center Colin Castleton. Expectations weren’t particularly high for Castleton, who was added last year as a transfer after making a minimal impact in his first two years at Michigan.

But he had a breakout season with UF, and he’s expected to be the team’s best player this season. He’s also in the preseason conversation for some hardware.

The senior was named to the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award watch list on Friday. He was one of 20 players on the preseason watch list for the award, which is given annually to the nation’s best center. Iowa’s Luka Garza, a second-round pick in the 2021 NBA draft, won it last year.

Castleton is coming off a junior season in which he averaged 12.4 points, 6.4 rebounds and 2.3 blocks, and he became one of the team’s leaders after veteran forward Keyontae Johnson was lost for the season.

There are three rounds of fan voting for the award, and the watch list of 20 players will be trimmed to 10 in late January and then five in March. That same month, one of the five finalists will be presented with the award. However, this watch list isn’t set in stone, and players can play their ways on and off the list.

Here’s the full watch list.

2022 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Award Candidates*

Walker Kessler Auburn
Nick Muszyinski Belmont
Mark Williams Duke
Colin Castleton Florida
Chet Holmgren Gonzaga
Kofi Cockburn Illinois
David McCormack Kansas
Oscar Tshiebwe Kentucky
Ahsan Asadullah Lipscomb
Qudus Wahab Maryland
Jalen Duren Memphis
Hunter Dickinson Michigan
Armando Bacot North Carolina
Moussa Cisse Oklahoma State
Nate Watson Providence
Zach Edey Purdue
Osun Osunniyi St. Bonaventure
Myles Johnson UCLA
Fardaws Aimaq Utah Valley
Liam Robbins Vanderbilt

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Kaleb Wesson one of ten finalists for Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award

Ohio State big man Kaleb Wesson has been named one of ten finalists for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award, given to the best center annually.

Ohio State big man Kaleb Wesson has had an up and down season, and a roller coaster of a career in Columbus if we’re being honest with ourselves. He’s had games where he looks like one of the best players in the country, and he’s had other times where he’s struggled to stay on the court because of foul trouble and conditioning. Or others where he has had trouble dealing with double-teams and length in the frontcourt.

However, Tuesday was the former. In one of Wesson’s best games of his career, he put the Buckeyes on his back, scoring 23 points and grabbing 12 rebounds in a whopping 36 minutes of play. Without him, Ohio State had no way of winning a hard-fought contest on the road against Michigan.

Now, Wesson has been recognized for a prestigious award. As of Friday, he has been named as one of ten finalists for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award given to college basketball’s best big-man annually.

The other nine candidates include Vernon Carey Jr. (Duke), Omer Yurtseven (Georgetown), Filip Petrusev (Gonzaga), Luka Garza (Iowa), Udoka Azubuike (Kansas), Daniel Oturu (Minnesota), Onyeka Okongwu (USC), Isaiah Stewart (Washington) and Nathan Knight (William and Mary).

Now a junior, the 6-9 Wesson has worked on remaking his body and game since he arrived in Columbus. His conditioning and footwork have gotten much better, and he is now a significant threat from beyond the arc. He has clearly taken the feedback he received from the NBA types to heart when he tested the waters after last season.

This year, Wesson leads the team in points (14.3) and rebounds (9.8) per game. He is shooting almost 50 percent from the field, and that includes a ridiculous 41.9 percent from three-point range.

It’ll still be a little while before we know who wins this honor. The Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Award won’t be handed out until April 10 at the College Basketball Awards in Los Angeles.