Cockburn for All-American | Dosunmu for Player of the Year | Vote for Dosunmu & Cockburn
The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced Friday the five finalists for the 2021 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Award, highlighted by Fighting Illini sophomore and All-America candidate Kofi Cockburn.
Named after Class of 1995 Hall of Famer, Pac-12 Player of the Century and three-time NCAA Champion Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the annual honor in its seventh year recognizes the top centers in men's college basketball.
Joining Cockburn on the list of finalists for the 2021 Bob Cousy Award are Luka Garza (Iowa), Trevion Williams (Purdue), Evan Mobley (USC) and Charles Bassey (Western Kentucky).
The finalists will be presented to Mr. Abdul-Jabbar and the Hall of Fame's selection committee. The winner of the 2021 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Award will be determined by a combination of fan votes and input from the Basketball Hall of Fame's selection committee.
Naismith Starting Five Fan Voting presented by Dell Technologies is underway on hoophallawards.com.
Kofi Cockburn 2020-21 Highlights
- Only NCAA player averaging 15+ points and 10+ rebounds while shooting at least 65% from the field
- Naismith Trophy Midseason Team
- Wooden Award Late Season Top 20 Watch List
- Second nationally with 15 double-doubles
- Third in the NCAA in field goal shooting at 67.5% (158-234)
- Fifth in Big Ten in scoring (17.7 ppg)
- Leads B1G and ranks 21st in NCAA in rebounding (10.0 rpg)
- Averages increase to 18.9 ppg and 10.4 rpg during Big Ten play
- Has scored at least 13 points in 20 of 23 games, with eight outings of 20+ points
- One of three players from high-major conferences averaging a double-double on the year
- Vying to become the first Illini player since 1973 to average a double-double for an entire season
- 27 career double-doubles (third in NCAA among active players over last two years)
"Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is widely regarded as the best college basketball player of all time," said John L. Doleva, President and CEO of the Basketball Hall of Fame. "To be acknowledged as a finalist for an award that bears his name is a phenomenal achievement and these student athletes should be celebrated. As a player, person and talent evaluator, Kareem has always operated at an elite level and we are grateful for his continued involvement in the Naismith Starting Five."
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar played for legendary coach and Hall of Famer John Wooden at the University of California, Los Angeles from 1966-1969. He is a three-time NCAA Champion who earned numerous accolades including three-time Final Four Most Outstanding Player, three-time National College Player of the Year and three-time Consensus First-Team All-American (1967-1969). As a professional, Abdul-Jabbar is a six-time NBA Champion, six-time NBA Most Valuable Player, two-time NBA Finals MVP, 19-time NBA All-Star and the league's all-time leading scorer.
"This season has been one unlike any other and I know it has taken tremendous determination and discipline for these young men to focus and deliver a high level of play consistently," said Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 1995. "In the next few weeks, we will be keeping a watchful eye to see who is able to take their game to the next level as the stakes rise."
The winner of the 2021 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award will be presented on ESPN, along with the other four members of the Men's Naismith Starting Five. Additional awards being presented include the Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year Award, featuring Illinois' Ayo Dosunmu as finalist, the Jerry West Shooting Guard Award, the Julius Erving Small Forward Award and the Karl Malone Power Forward Award, in addition to the Women's Starting Five. Additional information about the award presentation, including date and time, will be released in the coming weeks.
For more information on the 2021 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Award and the latest updates, log onto hoophallawards.com and follow @hoophall and #KareemAward on Twitter and Instagram.
