William & Mary's Nathan Knight
W&M's Knight Named Finalist For Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – William & Mary junior
Nathan Knight was announced as one of the top 10 candidates for the 2019 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Award, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced on Friday.
Named after Class of 1995 Hall of Famer and three-time NCAA Champion Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the annual honor in its fifth year recognizes the top centers in men's college basketball. A national committee comprising top college basketball personnel determined the watch list of 21 candidates in October, which was whittled down to 10 on Friday.
Knight is enjoying a standout junior season in which he is averaging 19.2 points, 8.4 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 2.1 blocked shots per game, while shooting 57.7 percent from the field and 74.2 percent from the free throw line. He is one of only six players in the country to rank among his conference's top five in scoring (third), rebounding (fourth) and assists (fifth). Knight ranks among the national leaders in a number of statistical categories, including 22nd in total blocks (51), 28th in field goals made (168), 29th in blocked shots per game (2.1), 36th in free throws made (115), 37th in field goals percentage (.577), 38th in double-doubles (9), 39th in total points (460) and 60th in scoring (19.2).
The 6-10 center has recorded a double-double in six of his last nine games, including his fourth career 30-point, 10-rebound double-double against Hofstra on Jan. 10. Knight scored a career-high 32 points earlier this season against Radford and was named the Lou Henson National Player of the Week after scoring 21 points, including the game-winning bucket with 1.7 seconds left to cap a 20-point second-half comeback in the Tribe's 87-85 win over Saint Joseph's on Nov. 24.
A Second Team All-CAA pick last season, Knight was a preseason second team selection by vote of the league's coaches, media and SIDs. The Syracuse, N.Y., native was named one of the top 10 Mid-Major players in the country by NBCSports.com as a preseason Mid-Major All-American in September. He was also selected to both the preseason and midseason watch lists for the Lou Henson Mid-Major Player of the Year by CollegeInsider.com.
Joining Knight on the list of 10 candidates are Arkansas' Daniel Gafford, Buffalo's Nick Perkins, Nico Carvacho of Colorado State, Jessie Govan of Georgetown, Maryland's Bruno Fernando, Michigan State's Nick Ward, Moses Brown of UCLA, Charles Bassey of Western Kentucky and Wisconsin's Ethan Happ.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar played for legendary coach and Hall of Famer John Wooden at UCLA from 1966-1969. He is a three-time NCAA Champion who earned numerous accolades including three-time Final Four Most Outstanding Player, three-time National College Player of the Year and three-time Consensus First-Team All-American (1967-1969). As a professional, Abdul-Jabbar is a six-time NBA Champion, six-time NBA Most Valuable Player, two-time NBA Finals MVP, 19-time NBA All-Star and the league's all-time leading scorer.
In March, five finalists will be presented to Mr. Abdul-Jabbar and the Hall of Fame's selection committee. The winner of the 2019 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award will be presented at
The College Basketball Awards presented by Wendy's in Los Angeles, CA on Friday, April 12, 2019, along with the other four members of the Naismith Starting 5. Additional awards being presented and receiving support from Eaton Ephesus Lighting include the Bob Cousy Point Guard Award, the Jerry West Shooting Guard Award, the Julius Erving Small Forward Award and the Karl Malone Power Forward Award. Broadcast information will be released by ESPN at a later date.
Previous winners of the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Award include
Angel Delgado, Seton Hall (2018),
Przemek Karnowski, Gonzaga (2017),
Jakob Poeltl, Utah (2016) and
Frank Kaminsky, Wisconsin (2015).
For more information and the latest updates on the 2019 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, log onto
www.hoophallawards.com and follow
@hoophall and
#KareemAward on Twitter and Instagram.
2019 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Award Candidates
| Daniel Gafford |
Arkansas |
| Nick Perkins |
Buffalo |
| Nico Carvacho |
Colorado St. |
| Jessie Govan |
Georgetown |
| Bruno Fernando |
Maryland |
| Nick Ward |
Michigan St. |
| Moses Brown |
UCLA |
| Charles Bassey |
Western Kentucky |
| Nathan Knight |
William & Mary |
| Ethan Happ |
Wisconsin |
*Players can play their way onto and off of the list at any point in the 2018-19 season*