West Virginia forward Oscar Tshiebwe is one of 50 players in college basketball who were named to the Jersey Mikes’ Naismith Trophy Watch List.
The Naismith Trophy has been awarded to the most outstanding player in basketball every season by the Atlanta Tipoff Club since 1969.
“The beginning of the season is filled with excitement, optimism and anticipation as each team and every player is undefeated, making the race for the Jersey Mike’s Naismith Trophy wide open. While these 50 candidates are those to keep an eye on, there will be plenty of others who will enter the competition throughout the season,” said Eric Oberman, executive director of the Atlanta Tipoff Club. “This year will be especially exciting as players who were unable to finish their seasons last year have even more to prove.”
The Mountaineer was a breakout star in his freshman season, leading WVU with 11.2 points and 9.3 rebounds every game. He is one of six Big 12 players named to the list this season, including Oklahoma State’s Cade Cunningham, Baylor’s MaCio Teague and Jared Butler, Kansas’s Marcus Garrett and Texas’s Greg Brown.
Tshiebwe has earned a multitude of preseason nods ahead of the 2020-21 season. In addition to the Naismith Trophy watch list honor, he has been named to the Karl Malone Award watch list while also earning a spot on the preseason All-Big 12 First Team.
