SPOKANE, Wash. — Following a triumphant West Coast Conference (WCC) tournament in Las Vegas this past weekend, Gonzaga basketball players Chet Holmgren and Drew Timme have made the list of semifinalists for the Naismith Trophy Men’s College Player of the Year.
The Atlanta Tipoff Club announced the narrowed list of candidates on Friday morning, citing Holmgren and Timme as two of the 10 candidates up for the award.
The players have earned their spot amongst the year’s best players with a record-tying block average for Holmgren and a WCC Player of the Year title for Timme.
Holmgren is also fourth in the nation with 104 blocks this season and a finalist for the Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year Award. Timme won the power forward award last season and is now also a finalist for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Award.
The competition will get even slimmer in the coming weeks when the four finalists are announced based partially on fan votes and the majority on a vote from leading journalists, current and former head coaches, and former award winners and conference commissioners, the press release said.
Fans can vote for their favorite player here and the final player will be announced on April 3.
Naismith Trophy Men's College Player of the Year Semifinalist List
- Ochai Agbaji - Kansas
- Kofi Cockburn - Illinois
- Johnny Davis - Wisconsin
- Chet Holmgren - Gonzaga
- E.J. Liddell - Ohio State
- Bennedict Mathurin - Arizona
- Keegan Murray - Iowa
- Jabari Smith - Auburn
- Drew Timme - Gonzaga
- Oscar Tshiebwe - Kentucky