A few short days after the finalists for the 2015 Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Class was announced, the Basketball Hall of Fame committee is remaining bust with the announcement of the first annual ‘Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award’.
The new award named for Abdul-Jabbar to honor the nation’s top collegiate center joins one of several new honors that will be awarded this year at a made-for-television ceremony on Friday, April 8th on ESPN. The other awards to be presented, in coordination with the Los Angeles Athletic Club and the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, are the Bob Cousy Award (top point guard), Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award, Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year Award and Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year Award.
Following from HoophallAwards.com
The world may never again see an athlete dominate basketball for as long and as thoroughly as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. From the time he stepped on the court as Lewis Alcindor at Power Memorial High School in his native New York City, to the years he owned college basketball at UCLA to the time he retired as the NBA’s all-time leader in nine statistical categories including the most points in NBA history, the 7-foot-2 superstar established himself as one of basketball’s most talented and recognizable figures. Abdul-Jabbar’s trademark skyhook was so precise and unstoppable it left defenders helpless. While one of Abdul-Jabbar’s signature maneuvers, it is now widely considered basketball’s most classic and lethal offensive move. Abdul-Jabbar brought finesse and agility to the center position, two traits he substituted for brute force and strength. He was the kind of player who graces a sport once in a lifetime.
More from the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame website.
The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced today the fifteen watch list members for the 2015 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Award. Named after Hall of Famer and three-time NCAA Champion Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the annual honor in its inaugural year recognizes the top centers in men’s college basketball. The watch list of 15 candidates was determined by a national committee comprised of top college basketball personnel.
“For many years the Basketball Hall of Fame has recognized the top collegiate point guards in the nation with the Bob Cousy Award. We are excited to expand upon these awards by now recognizing the top players at each position,” said John L. Doleva, President and CEO of the Basketball Hall of Fame. “When it comes to collegiate centers, none have accomplished more than Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and we are pleased to include him in this celebration of the best in the game today.”
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar played for legendary coach John Wooden at the University of California, Los Angeles 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).
“It’s truly an honor for this award to bear my name,” said Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, a 1995 inductee of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and six-time NBA Champion. “The fifteen athletes on this list represent the most dedicated, determined and skillful centers in college basketball today and I wish them well as they head into March.”
By early March, the current list of 15 finalists for the 2015 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award will be narrowed down to five players. The final five players in contention for the award will be presented to Mr. Abdul-Jabbar and the Hall of Fame’s selection committee. The winner of the 2015 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award will be presented at ESPN’s new College Basketball Awards presented by Wendy’s from Club Nokia in Los Angeles, CA on Friday, April 10, 2015. The Awards will be televised live on ESPN2 at 8:00pm EST.
2015 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award Candidates
(Click on the players names to get more stats from CBS Sports)
Bobby Portis, University of Arkansas
Alan Williams, University of California, Santa Barbara
Josh Scott, University of Colorado
Jahlil Okafor, Duke University
Joshua Smith, Georgetown University
Willie Cauley-Stein, University of Kentucky
Jarell Martin, Louisiana State University
Kennedy Meeks, University of North Carolina
Brad Waldow, Saint Mary’s College
Stefan Nastic, Stanford University
Rakeem Christmas, Syracuse University
Jakob Poeltl, University of Utah
Damian Jones, Vanderbilt University
