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Three B1G centers named finalists for Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award

Dustin Schutte

By Dustin Schutte

Published:

Three of the five finalists for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Award are from the B1G.

Friday, the Basketball Hall of Fame named the five finalists for the prestigious national honor. The three B1G finalists are Iowa’s Luka Garza, Purdue’s Trevion Williams and Illinois’ Kofi Cockburn. The other two candidates are USC’s Evan Mobley and Western Kentucky’s Charles Bassey.

Garza is not just a candidate to claim this award, but he’s also a strong choice to receive B1G and National Player of the Year honors. The senior is averaging 24.3 points, 8.3 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.5 blocks per game for No. 9 Iowa this season. He’s also shooting 54.8% from the floor and 44.6% from 3-point range.

Williams is Purdue’s leading scorer and rebounder but has also been a strong passer this year. The center is scoring 16 points and collecting 9.1 rebounds per game, while also dishing 2 assists per contest.

Cockburn is averaging a double-double for the Fighting Illini this season at 17.7 points and 10 rebounds per game. He’s been nearly impossible to guard in the post, knocking down an sizzling 67.5% of his shots this year. Illinois is ranked No. 5 nationally.

Dustin Schutte

Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB