SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Kansas senior Hunter Dickinson has been named one of five finalists for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Award, the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame announced today.
The annual Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award, named after the Class of 1995 Hall of Famer and three-time NCAA Champion, celebrates its 10th year by honoring the top centers in Division I men’s college basketball.
Joining Dickinson as finalists are Armando Bacot (North Carolina), Zach Edey (Purdue), PJ Hall (Clemson) and Ryan Kalkbrenner (Creighton).
A six-time Big 12 weekly award winner and on nearly every national player of the year and All-America watch list, Dickinson leads the Big 12 and is seventh nationally in rebounds per game at 11. The Alexandria, Virginia, native recorded his 16th double-double of the season with 15 points and 20 rebounds against Kansas State (3/5) and his 16 double-doubles lead the Big 12 and are 10th nationally. With an 18.2 ppg, which is second in the Big 12 behind Kansas teammate Kevin McCullar Jr., Dickinson is the only player in the Big 12 averaging a double-double. He also leads the Big 12 with 14 games of 20-plus points and leads KU with 42 blocked shots and has 29 steals.
Dickinson enters Saturday’s game at Houston with 2,163 points and 1,117 rebounds and is one of four active players in NCAA Division I to surpass both 2,100 points and 1,100 rebounds for his career. Prior to joining Kansas last summer, 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 player by participating in Fan Voting, presented by Dell Technologies, starting Friday, March 8, on hoophallawards.com. The Fan Vote will count as one committee vote during the finalist selection process.
Later this month, the finalists will be presented to Abdul-Jabbar and the Hall of Fame’s selection committees. The Selection Committee for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award are composed of top men’s basketball personnel, including media members, head coaches, sports information directors, and Hall of Famers.
The winner of the 2024 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), the Jerry West Award (Shooting Guard), the Julius Erving Award (Small Forward) and the Karl Malone Award (Power Forward). In 2017 Kansas’ Frank Mason III won the Bob Cousy Award and in 2023 KU’s Jalen Wilson won the Julius Erving Award.