TUCSON, Ariz. - The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame announced the preseason watch list for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year award and Arizona's
Oumar Ballo was among the 20 players included on the list. The award recognizes the top center in men's college basketball each year.
Ballo was a first team all-conference selection last year and was named the Pac-12 Most Improved Player along with honorable mention all-defensive team accolades. He was the MVP of the Maui Invitational and a member of the Pac-12 All-Tournament team after leading Arizona to its second consecutive title. He averaged 14.2 points and 8.6 rebounds per game and shot 64.7% from the floor, the second-best single-season percentage in school history.
Players are able to play their way on or off the list throughout the season. The Basketball Hall of Fame plans to narrow down the list to 10 players in later January and then name five finalists in March. The winner of the award will be announced at the Final Four in Phoenix. For more information, visit
www.hoophallawards.com.
Arizona has only had two players ever go on to win one of the Basketball Hall of Fame positional awards – Stanley Johnson in 2015 as the top Small Forward and Deandre Ayton in 2018 as the top Power Forward.
Ballo and the Wildcats are back in action on Oct. 30 when they host New Mexico Highlands in an exhibition contest. Tip-off is slated for 7:00 p.m. PT and is only available via online stream at
arizonawildcats.com/live.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Preseason Watch List
Aaron Bradshaw, Kentucky
Aday Mara, UCLA
Armando Bacot , UNC
Aziz Bandaogo, Cincinnati
Branden Carlson, Utah
Clifford Omoruyi, Rutgers
Dawson Garcia, Minnesota
Donovan Clingan, UConn
Eric Dixon, Villanova
Hunter Dickinson, Kansas
Jamarian Sharp, Ole Miss
Jesse Edwards, West Virginia
Joel Soriano, St Johns
Johni Broome, Auburn
Jordan Brown, Memphis
Kel'el Ware, Indiana
N'Faly Dante, Oregon
Oumar Ballo, Arizona
Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton
Zach Edey, Purdue
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