Northwest Notes: March 5, 2022
Timme named finalist for
Abdul-Jabbar Award
Gonzaga's Drew Timme was named one of five finalists for the 2022 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Award the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced Friday.
Named after Class of 1995 Hall of Famer and three-time NCAA Champion Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the annual honor in its eighth year recognizes the top centers in men’s college basketball.
The five finalists for the 2022 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Award are Walker Kessler (Auburn), Adama Sanogo (Connecticut), Timme (Gonzaga), Kofi Cockburn (Illinois), and Oscar Tshiebwe (Kentucky).
Timme, a Preseason All-American and the 2022 West Coast Conference Player of the Year. The Dallas native was named First Team All-Conference the last two seasons, after being named All-Freshman in 2019-20. He is second in the West Coast Conference averaging 17.6 points per game, and first scoring 18.5 points per WCC outing. The junior is third in the conference shooting 58.3 percent from the field, which ranks 17th in the nation. He is eighth in the WCC grabbing 6.4 rebounds per game, and sixth blocking 0.89 shots per game. Timme won the Karl Malone Award last season, which is given to the nation’s top Power Forward. He boasts a record of 86-6 (.935) in his Gonzaga appearances, going 43-2 (.956) in conference play.
“Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is widely regarded as the best college basketball player of all time,” said John L. Doleva, President and CEO of the Basketball Hall of Fame. “To be acknowledged as a finalist for an award that bears his name is a phenomenal achievement and these student athletes should be celebrated. As a player, person and talent evaluator, Kareem has always operated at an elite level and we are grateful for his continued involvement in the Naismith Starting Five.”
A national committee of top college basketball personnel determined the watch list of 20 candidates in November, which was narrowed to 10 candidates in late January and now just five finalists. This month, the finalists will be presented to Mr. Abdul-Jabbar and the Hall of Fame’s selection committee. The winner of the 2022 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Award will be determined by a combination of fan votes and input from the Basketball Hall of Fame’s selection committee. Naismith Starting Five Fan Voting presented by Dell Technologies will go live on today on hoophallawards.com.
The winner of the 2022 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award will be presented on a to be determined date, along with the other four members of the Men’s Starting Five. Additional awards being presented include the Bob Cousy Point Guard Award, Jerry West Shooting Guard Award, the Julius Erving Small Forward Award and the Karl Malone Power Forward Award, in addition to the Women’s Starting Five. Additional information about the award presentation, including date and time, will be released in the coming weeks.
Previous winners of the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Award include two-time winner Luka Garza, Iowa (2020-21), Ethan Happ, Wisconsin (2019), Angel Delgado, Seton Hall (2018), Przemek Karnowski, Gonzaga (2017), Jakob Poeltl, Utah (2016) and Frank Kaminsky, Wisconsin (2015).