Gonzaga's Graham Ike named finalist for award as top center in college basketball

The accolades just keep pouring in for Gonzaga big man Graham Ike.

Two days after being named the WCC Tournament MVP, and barely a week after winning the conference Player of the Year award, Ike was named one of five finalists for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Award as announced by the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame on Thursday.

Florida's Alex Condon, North Carolina's Henri Veesaar, St. John's Zuby Ejiofor, and Kansas' Flory Bidunga joined Ike on the list of finalists, with four of the five power conferences represented next to Gonzaga's big man.

Ike finally won WCC Player of the Year after putting Gonzaga on his back down the stretch of conference play. Ike's teammate in the frontcourt, Braden Huff, went down with a left knee injury ahead of Gonzaga's road game against Washington State on Jan. 15, forcing Ike into an even bigger role offensively. The big man responded with an incredible stretch of basketball - averaging 22.5 points, 7.6 rebounds, 2.2 assists, and 2.2 blocks in 34.7 minutes per game, while shooting 66% on twos, 38.9% from three, and 85% from the free throw line. Gonzaga went 10-2 in the 12 games he played without Huff, including two wins against Santa Clara and one at home against Saint Mary's.

All told Ike appeared in 29 games this season, averaging 19.7 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 2.4 assists while shooting 61.9% on twos and 34.8% from three in 30.8 minutes per game. He led the WCC in PPG and field goal percentage, and is the higest scorer among the group of five finalists for this award.

Ike is wrapping up an extraordinary collegiate career, which began at Wyoming back in 2020-21. The 6'9 center is first in the nation among active players with 2,531 career points, making him the 86th player in history to reach 2,500 points in a career. He is also second among active players with 1,133 rebounds, and is the only active player - and fourth in WCC history - with over 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds.

Gonzaga Bulldogs forward Graham Ike (15). | Photo by Lane Mathews

The big man also leads active players with 975 made field goals, and is third in double-doubles (45) and fourth in made free throws (535).

The Aurora, CO native is vying not only for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award, but his first appearance on an All-American roster - an accolade he clearly deserves after carrying this Gonzaga team to a 30-3 record and both a WCC regular season and tournament championship.

Fans can vote for Ike by going to hoophallawards.com starting on Friday, with fan vote counting as one committee vote during the final selection process.

The lone Gonzaga player to win this award was Przemek Karnowski back in 2017, with Drew Timme instead nominated for, and winning, the Karl Malone Award for best power forward in 2021. Additional previous Kareem Abdul-Jabbar winners include Ryan Kalkbrenner (Creighton) Zach Edey (Purdue) and Oscar Tshiebwe (Kentucky).