Naismith Trophy Watch List
The Atlanta Tipoff club announced Monday the 50 watch list candidates for the 2020 Citizen Naismith Trophy Men's Player of the Year, the top honor in college basketball.
The list is highlighted by Fighting Illini sophomore Ayo Dosunmu. This is the latest preseason accolade for the Chicago native, which includes the Cousy Award Watch List for the nation's top point guard, third-team All-America by Sporting News, Athlon Sports and Dick Vitale, fourth-team All-America by Blue Ribbon Year Book, first-team All-Big Ten by Blue Ribbon and Athlon, and preseason All-Big Ten by the conference's media panel.
AYO DOSUNMU | 2018-19 SEASON HIGHLIGHTS
- Big Ten All-Freshman Team & honorable mention All-Big Ten (coaches & media)
- First true freshman in school history to lead the Illini in scoring for the season (13.8 ppg)
- Recorded the fourth-best scoring average by a freshman in Illini history
- Two-time Big Ten Freshman of the Week (Feb. 11 & Feb. 18)
- 23 games scoring in double figures with seven performances of 20 or more points
- Led Illini in assists (3.3 apg), second on team in steals (1.3 spg) and third on team in rebounding (4.0 rpg)
A list of the midseason 30 team will be released in early February, followed by the 10 national semifinalists and four finalists on March 5, 2020, and March 17, 2020, respectively. The 2020 Citizen Naismith Trophy will be awarded in the hometown of the Atlanta Tipoff Club during the Final Four at the Naismith Awards Brunch on April 5, 2020.
"The beginning of the season is filled with excitement, optimism and anticipation as each team and every player is undefeated, making the race for the Citizen Naismith Trophy wide open. While these 50 candidates are ones to keep an eye on, there will be plenty of others who will enter the competition as the season heats up," said Eric Oberman, executive director of the Atlanta Tipoff Club. "This year will be especially exciting for this award as we will honor the nation's top player in our home city when Atlanta hosts the 2020 Final Four."
Overall, the SEC tops the list with nine players represented, while the Big Ten and ACC are close runners-up with eight and seven candidates on the watch list, respectively. Seven schools lead the watch list with two players apiece, including Duke, which has won more Citizen Naismith Trophies (8) than any other school with the addition of last year's winner, Zion Williamson. Additional schools with two players represented include Davidson, Florida, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland and Michigan State. The 2019 Jersey Mike's Naismith High School Player of the Year award winner, Isaiah Stewart, now a freshman at the University of Washington, also made this year's college watch list. Players who do not make the watch list are still eligible to be selected for the midseason 30 team.
"The Citizen Naismith Trophy rewards the impressive efforts of the players on the watch list," said Eric Horowitz, managing director U.S. and travel retail, Citizen Watch Company of America, Inc. "We look forward to watching them compete for the Men's Player of the Year honor."
