Aimaq selected to Abdul-Jabbar Award Watch List

LUBBOCK, Texas – Texas Tech senior Fardaws Aimaq has been selected to the 2023 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award Watch List which is named after Class of 1995 Hall of Famer and three-time NCAA Champion Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

Aimaq is in his first season at Tech after playing two years at Utah Valley and one at Mercer. He has recorded 41 double-doubles in his career which is the fifth most active in the NCAA and comes into his fourth season of college basketball with 1,056 points, 918 rebounds and 99 blocked shots. Standing at 6-foot-11, Aimaq is from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and was named the WAC Defensive Player of the Year the past two seasons and the 2021 WAC Player of the Year.

The Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award is in its ninth year of recognizing the top center in men's college basketball. A national committee of top college basketball personnel determined the watch list of 20 candidates. The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced preseason watch list on Friday after naming Kevin Obanor to the Julius Erving Award watch list earlier this week.

Aimaq is coming off a junior season at Utah Valley where he averaged 18.9 points and 13.6 rebounds per game following a sophomore season of 15.0 rebounds and 13.9 rebounds per game. His 15.0 rebounds per game led the nation in the 2020-21 season while last season he was second nationally in rebounding. He recorded 27 double-doubles last year which was the third most in the country.

Aimaq is joined on the watch list by: Charles Bediako (Alabama), Oumar Ballo (Arizona), PJ Hall (Clemson), Ryan Kalkbrenner (Creighton), Dereck Lively (Duke), Colin Castleton (Florida), Osun Osunniyi (Iowa State), Oscar Tshiebwe (Kentucky), Hunter Dickinson (Michigan), Armando Bacot (UNC), Moussa Cisse (Oklahoma State), Kel'el Ware (Oregon), Zach Edey (Purdue), Clifford Omoruy (Rutgers), Adem Bona (UCLA), Adama Sanogo (Connecticut), Branden Carlson (Utah), Jamarion Sharp (Western Kentucky) and Jack Nunge (Xavier). The awards committee makes it clear that players can play their way onto and off the watch list throughout the season.

The No. 25-ranked Red Raiders begin their season on Monday, November 7 by hosting Northwestern State at the United Supermarkets Arena.

Fans are encouraged to participate in Fan Voting, presented by Dell Technologies, in each of the three rounds starting today. In late January, the watch list of 20 players for the 2023 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award will be narrowed to 10 and then in late February to just five. In March the five finalists will be presented to Abdul-Jabbar and the Hall of Fame's selection committee where a winner will be selected.

The winner of the 2023 Kareem 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), Jerry West Award (Shooting Guard), Julius Erving Award (Small Forward) and the Karl Malone Award (Power Forward), in addition to the Women's Starting Five.

Previous winners of the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Award are Oscar Tshiebwe, Kentucky (2022), two-time winner Luka Garza, Iowa (2020-21), Ethan Happ, Wisconsin (2019), Angel Delgado, Seton Hall (2018), Przemek Karnowski, Gonzaga (2017), Jakob Poeltl, Utah (2016) and Frank Kaminsky, Wisconsin (2015).

"Rounding out the Men's Starting Five Watch List is the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award. The student-athletes on this list should feel tremendously proud of all they have accomplished to be associated with basketball's all-time leading scorer," said John L. Doleva, President and CEO of the Basketball Hall of Fame. "With his focus on both education and athletics, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's perspective is cherished by our committee when evaluating talent each year."

For more information on the 2023 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award and the latest updates, visit hoophallawards.com and follow @hoophall and #KareemAward on Twitter and Instagram.

Aimaq selected to Abdul-Jabbar Award Watch List

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