The award recognizes the top center in men’s college basketball
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Florida fifth-year big man Colin Castleton has been named to the 2023 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Watch List, 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 ninth year recognizes the top center in men’s college basketball.
Castleton adds to his preseason honors, already having been named preseason first-team All-SEC by media members last week. Castleton averaged 16.2 points and 9.0 rebounds with 62 blocked shots during the 2021-22 campaign.
“The student-athletes on this list should feel tremendously proud of all they have accomplished to be associated with basketball’s all-time leading scorer,” said John L. Doleva, President and CEO of the Basketball Hall of Fame. “With his focus on both education and athletics, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s perspective is cherished by our committee when evaluating talent each year.”
Fan voting begins today at hoophallawards.com<http://www.hoophallawards.com/> and will continue for three rounds. In late January, the watch list of 20 players for the 2023 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award will be narrowed to 10 and then in late February to just five. In March the five finalists will be presented to Abdul-Jabbar and the Hall of Fame’s selection committee where a winner will be selected.
A national committee of top college basketball personnel determined the watch list of 20 candidates.
2023 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award Watch List
Fardaws Aimaq, Texas Tech
Armando Bacot, North Carolina
Oumar Ballo, Arizona
Charles Bediako, Alabama
Adem Bona, UCLA
Branden Carlson, Utah
Colin Castleton, Florida
Moussa Cissé, Oklahoma State
Hunter Dickinson, Michigan
Zach Edey, Purdue
PJ Hall, Clemson
Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton
Dereck Lively II, Duke
Jack Nunge, Xavier
Clifford Omoruyi, Rutgers
Osun Osunniyi, Iowa State
Adama Sanogo, UConn
Jamarion Sharp, Western Kentucky
Oscar Tshiebwe, Kentucky
Kel’el Ware, Oregon
Basketball Hall of Fame Media Contact
Patrick O’Connell, Position Sports // mediarelations@positionsports.com<mailto:mediarelations@positionsports.com>
