Gonzaga's Drew Timme in consideration for Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award

Gonzaga big man Drew Timme is in consideration for the being nation's best center at the end of this season after being put on a list of candidates for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Award.

After playing a lot of his minutes last season at the four-spot and winning the Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year Award, Timme’s status as a primary center this season sets him up to add a new award to his showcase.

Timme has been shooting at a 60.4% clip from the field all season, which ranks 13th in the country. Along with averaging 17.9 points per game, Timme has amassed 120 rebounds and 19 blocks through 20 games this season.

Timme is up against other strong contenders from the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award, including the University of Illinois’ Kofi Cockburn who is the sixth best scorer in college basketball this season averaging 22.1 points per game. Walker Kessler from Auburn, who is second in the nation in blocks, North Carolina’s Armando Bacot, who has 17 double-doubles in 22 games this season, and the nation’s leading rebounder in Oscar Tshiewbe from Kentucky.

The most recent list will be narrowed down to five names later in February, but players who aren’t currently in consideration can play their way onto the final list. From there, voting will begin in March and this season’s winner will be decided on by Abdul-Jabbar himself and a committee from the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

Last season, the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award was given to former Iowa big man Luka Garza, who also won the John R. Wooden Player of the year award.

Earlier this week, Timme was also named as one of the 20 players nation-wide who are up for this season’s John R. Wooden Award. He and teammate Chet Holmgren are the only frontcourt duo in the nation to be up for both the player of the year award and the awards for the top player at each of their respective positions.

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