Tag: naismith award

Zakai Zeigler named to Naismith Trophy Preseason Watch List

Tennessee senior guard Zakai Zeigler named to Naismith Trophy Preseason Watch List.

No. 12 Tennessee played its only exhibition game ahead of the 2024-25 basketball season.

No. 18 Indiana defeated the Vols, 66-62, on Sunday at Food City Center. Rankings reflect the preseason USA TODAY Sports Men’s Basketball Coaches Poll.

Senior guard Zakai Zeigler led Tennessee with 13 points against the Hoosiers.

The 5-foot-9, 172-pound guard was named to the Jersey Mike’s Naismith Trophy College Player of the Year Preseason Watch List.

Zeigler averaged 11.8 points, 6.1 rebounds, 2.8 rebounds and 1.7 steals per game last season. He appeared in 36 games, including 30 starts, and was named 2024 SEC Defensive Player of the Year.

Tennessee will tip off its 2024-25 basketball season on Nov. 4 versus Gardner-Webb at Food City Center (7 p.m. EST, SEC Network+).

Photo by Mike Mulholland/Getty Images

Three Notre Dame women’s basketball players are on key watch list

Notre Dame has three women on the Naismith Player of the Year list.

Notre Dame has three women’s basketball players on the Naismith Trophy Women’s Player of the Year Watch List.

The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame made the announcement Monday that Sonia Citron, Hannah Hidalgo and Olivia Miles are on the watch list.

The 50-player list includes the nation’s top players, and very few teams have more than three players on it.

Citron averaged 17.3 points per game and played 35.8 minutes a game on average. That’s fourth in Notre Dame history and head coach Niele Ivey called her the team’s “glue.”

She was also All-ACC Second Team last season.

Hidalgo is a pre-season AP All-American and last season averaged 22.6 points, 6.2 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 4.6 steals per game. She led the country in steals.

Miles, meanwhile, is coming back from a torn ACL. The 2023 ACC Player of the Year runner-up averaged 14.3 points, 7.3 rebounds, 6.9 assists and 2.1 steals per game during her junior season.

Feb 24, 2022; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish guard Olivia Miles (5) dribbles as Clemson Tigers guard Madi Ott (30) defends in the second half at the Purcell Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports

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Notre Dame 2024 signee named Naismith Second Team All-American

Another top talent on the way to Notre Dame is honored.

Hannah Hidalgo has set a high bar for future Notre Dame freshmen. That doesn’t mean future first-year players won’t try to top her though. One player who could do it during the 2024-25 season is [autotag]Kate Koval[/autotag].

Koval is a five-star player at Long Island Lutheran in Brookeville, New York who signed with the Irish in December. Now, she’s been named to the Naismith Trophy Girls’ High School All America Second Team.

Hidalgo made the Second Team in 2023, and [autotag]Emma Risch[/autotag] was an honorable mention. [autotag]KK Bransford[/autotag] was a Third Team honoree in 2022 and an honorable mention in 2021. [autotag]Olivia Miles[/autotag] made the Third Team in 2020, and [autotag]Maddy Westbeld[/autotag] and [autotag]Kylee Watson[/autotag] were senior honorable mentions.

It’s evidence that even in the post-[autotag]Muffet McGraw[/autotag] era, Notre Dame continues to attract top talent for women’s basketball, and there’s no reason to think that will stop anytime soon. Even so, a strong postseason showing would do wonders to show just how attractive the program still is.

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Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

Top 10 scorers in Notre Dame women’s basketball history

Here are some Irish legends.

The sports world is abuzz with Caitlin Clark becoming the NCAA’s all-time leading scorer in women’s basketball. She hasn’t even gone professional yet, and many already are crowning her the GOAT. That label gets tossed around very liberally these days, but it’s hard to picture many athletes who have transcended their sport the way she has.

Despite what our site editor Nick Shepkowski might have said about me, Caitlin Clark is not my sister. Athleticism is not in my immediate family’s gene pool, or I would have kept following my NBA dreams years ago. Alas, the closest I can get to organized basketball these days is to write about it and create listicles about it.

I would like to demonstrate that ability right now by assembling a listicle of the top 10 scorers in Notre Dame women’s basketball history. It’s a great way to celebrate the new scoring queen in women’s college hoops, and the timing couldn’t be more appropriate:

Michigan State basketball SG Tyson Walker named to Naismith Trophy Midseason Team

Michigan State basketball SG Tyson Walker named to Naismith Trophy Midseason Team

The 2023-24 Naistmith Trophy Men’ College Player of the Year Midseason List was revealed on Thursday, and Michigan State basketball shooting guard Tyson Walker made the list.

Walker, who has been playing through a groin injury this year, is on pace to have one of the best individual scoring seasons in Michigan State’s history under Tom Izzo. He is currently averaging 18.4 points per game on the year.

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Rickea Jackson named to Naismith Player of the of the Year midseason watch list

Rickea Jackson named to Naismith Player of the of the Year midseason watch list.

Tennessee forward Rickea Jackson was named to the Jersey Mike’s Naismith Trophy Player of the Year watch list on Tuesday.

Jackson is one of 30 players on the list, which was released Tuesday.

The Detroit, Michigan native is averaging 18.6 points and 8.1 rebounds per game this season. Jackson has scored 10-plus points in 15 games this season, while recording a .460 field goal percentage.

Jackson totaled 21 points, nine rebounds and two assists in the Lady Vols’ (15-8, 8-3 SEC) win versus Arkansas on Monday.

Jackson has scored 2,035 points in her career, which began at Mississippi State. In two seasons with the Lady Vols she has scored 950 points.

Photo by Eakin Howard/Getty Images

Dalton Knecht repeats as SEC Player of the Week, wins Naismith Award

Dalton Knecht repeats as SEC Player of the Week, wins Naismith Award.

For third time this season, and for the second consecutive week, Tennessee guard Dalton Knecht was named Southeastern Conference Player of the Week.

He becomes the first Tennessee player to win consecutive Player of the Week honors since Admiral Schofield accomplished the feat from Feb. 26 and March 5, 2019.

Knecht averaged 32.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.5 assists per contest in the Vols’ wins against Florida on and Alabama. He was also named Naismith Player of the Week by the Atlanta Tipoff Club/Naismith Awards.

Knecht is the first Tennessee player to win the Naismith weekly award since Grant Williams claimed the honor on Jan. 28, 2019.

Knecht scored 39 points in Tennessee’s, 85-66, victory over the Gators. He recorded a 25-point performance against Alabama.

No. 5 Tennessee (14-4, 4-1 SEC) will next play Saturday at Vanderbilt (6 p.m. EST, SEC Network).

Former Badger big man ties the knot

After a legendary career at Wisconsin, current NBA player Frank Kaminsky and his bride Ashley Brewer tied the knot this week.

After a legendary career at Wisconsin, current NBA player Frank Kaminsky and his bride Ashley Brewer tied the knot this week. Kaminsky was a member of the Badgers from 2011-2015, leading Wisconsin men’s basketball to heights they had never reached.

Kaminsky really stepped into his own in his junior season in 2014 averaging 13.9 points per game and 6.3 rebounds, helping lead the Badgers to a Final Four birth, losing to Kentucky. Additionally, in November of that 2013-2014 campaign, he set the program record with 43 points against North Dakota.

The next season he went on to win Big Ten Player of the Year as well as the Naismith Award, averaging 18.8 points and 8.2 rebounds. The Badgers went on to defeat the unbeaten Kentucky Wildcats in the Final Four and ultimately lose to Duke 68-63 in the 2015 National Championship.

Kaminsky was selected ninth overall in the 2015 NBA Draft by the Charlotte Hornets and he currently plays for the Houston Rockets.

Congratulations Frank the Tank!

E.J. Liddell makes Naismith Award Midseason watchlist

The Atlanta Tipoff Club announced the inclusion of Ohio State forward E.J. Liddell to its Midseason Naismith Award watchlist on Thursday.

Ohio State sophomore forward E.J. Liddell has been named to the Jersey Mike’s Naismith Award Midseason watchlist according to an announcement from the Atlanta Tipoff Club Thursday.

Liddell leads the Buckeyes in scoring (14.9 ppg), rebounds (6.8), and total blocks (24).

“E.J. has earned this prestigious recognition and I am really happy for him,” Chris Holtmann, head coach of the Buckeyes, said in a release. “He is a gifted player and his growth has been impressive. E.J. has been a joy to coach. He understands there is much work ahead of us this season and I know he is committed to working toward daily improvement.”

From Bellville, Illinois, Lidell is one of 30 players, and a part of eight Big Ten names appearing on the list.

The Naismith award traces back to 1969 and is named after the inventor of basketball, Dr. James Naismith. Evan Turner is the only Buckeye to win the award back in 2010.

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ESPN’s matchup predictor curiously goes wrong way predicting Ohio State basketball’s remaining games

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