🏀 Dickinson Named Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award Top 10 Candidate
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — Kansas senior Hunter Dickinson has been named a 2024 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Award Top 10 candidate, the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame announced Friday.
Dickinson joins teammates Dajuan Harris Jr. (Bob Cousy Award) and Kevin McCullar Jr. (Jerry West Award) as top-10 candidates for the Hall of Fame Men’s Starting Five awards. Harris and McCullar were named earlier this past week. Historically, Kansas has won two such honors, with Frank Mason III winning the 2017 Bob Cousy Award and Jalen Wilson the 2023 Julius Erving Award.
Named after Class of 1995 Hall of Famer and three-time NCAA Champion Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the annual honor, in its 10th year, recognizes the top center in Division I men’s college basketball.
Joining Dickinson on the list is Armando Bacot (North Carolina), Johni Broome (Auburn), Branden Carlson (Utah), Donovan Clingan (UConn), Zach Edey (Purdue), Dawson Garcia (Minnesota), PJ Hall (Clemson), Ryan Kalkbrenner (Creighton) and Joel Soriano (St. John’s). Players can play their way onto and off the list at any point in the 2023-24 season.
A 2020-21 Wooden All-American while at Michigan, Dickinson leads the Big 12 and is fifth nationally in rebounds per game at 11.2. The Alexandria, Virginia center’s 12 double-doubles, including two in his last two outings, lead the Big 12 and are sixth nationally. A five-time Big 12 weekly award honoree this season, Dickinson is the only player in the Big 12 averaging a double-double. He also leads KU with 28 blocked shots and has 25 steals.
On most every midseason All-America team, Dickinson became just the third active player in NCAA Division I to surpass both 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds for his career joining Armando Bacot of North Carolina and Zach Edey of Purdue. Dickinson enters the Feb. 3 contest against Houston with 2,010 points and 1,023 rebounds. Dickinson was a three-time all-conference honoree while at Michigan and a 2021 Consensus All-America Second Team selection.
Fans can support their favorite players in the remaining rounds by participating in Fan Voting, presented by Dell Technologies, starting today on hoophallawards.com. The Fan Vote will count as one committee vote during the finalist selection process.
In March, five finalists will be presented to Abdul-Jabbar and the Hall of Fame’s selection committee. The Selection Committee for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award is composed of top men’s college basketball personnel, including media members, head coaches, sports information directors, and Hall of Famers.
The winner of the 2024 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award will be presented on a to be determined date, along with the other four members of the Men’s Starting Five. Additional awards being presented include the Bob Cousy Award (Point Guard), Jerry West Award (Shooting Guard), Julius Erving Award (Small Forward), and the Karl Malone Award (Power Forward), in addition to the Women’s Starting Five.
Previous winners of the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Award are Zach Edey, Purdue (2023), Oscar Tshiebwe, Kentucky (2022), Luka Garza, Iowa (2020-21), Ethan Happ, Wisconsin (2019), Angel Delgado, Seton Hall (2018), Przemek Karnowski, Gonzaga (2017), Jakob Poeltl, Utah (2016), and Frank Kaminsky, Wisconsin (2015).
For more information on the 2024 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award and the latest updates, visit hoophallawards.com and follow @hoophallU and #KareemAward on Twitter and Instagram.
No. 8 Kansas (17-4, 5-3) will play host to No. 4 Houston (19-2, 6-2) on Saturday, Feb. 3. Tip from Allen Fieldhouse will be at 3 p.m. CT and the game will be televised on ESPN.
