USC's Evan Mobley Named Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award Finalist

USC freshman Evan Mobley has been named a finalist for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award which is given out annually to the top center in men's college basketball, it was announced by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame today (Feb. 27). This list is determined by a national committee and the winner will be presented on April 9, 2021.

The 7-foot freshman is averaging 16.7 points, 8.5 rebounds and 3.0 blocks per game.  Mobley's 71 blocked shots rank second on USC's all-time freshman shots blocked list and are the third-most in the country this season.  His 204 rebounds and his block total both lead all Pac-12 players. Mobley is the only Division I player to to be averaging at least 16.5 points, 8.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 2.0 blocks per game.

Mobley just keeps adding on to his 2020-21 accolades which include being named to the Wooden Award Late Season Watch List, the 2021 NABC Player of the Year Watch List, the 2021 Naismith Trophy Midseason Watch List, a 2021 Naismith Defensive Player of the Year semifinalist, being named to the 2020-21 Pac-12 Men's Basketball Preseason Media All-Conference First Team and being a six-time selection as Pac-12 Freshman of the Week.   

Joining Mobley as finalists for the 2021 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar are Kofi Cockburn (Illinois), Luka Garza (Iowa), Trevion Williams (Purdue), and Charles Bassey (Western Kentucky).

The winner of the 2021 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award will be presented on ESPN, along with the other four members of the Naismith Starting Five. Additional awards being presented include the Bob Cousy Point Guard Award, 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.

Previous winners of the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Award include Luka Garza, Iowa (2020), Ethan Happ, Wisconsin, (2019), Angel Delgado, Seton Hall (2018), Przemek Karnowski, Gonzaga (2017), Jakob Poeltl, Utah (2016) and Frank Kaminsky, Wisconsin (2015).

For more information and the latest updates on the 2021 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, log onto www.hoophallawards.com and follow @hoophall and #KareemAward on Twitter and Instagram.