WVU’s Derek Culver Named to Abdul-Jabbar Award Watch List

West Virginia men’s basketball junior Derek Culver has been named to the 2021 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Award watch list, the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame announced Friday.

🚨 Abdul-Jabbar Watch List 🚨

Derek Culver named to the list by @Hoophall

➡️https://t.co/lOoqVteMU7#HailWV#KareemAward pic.twitter.com/x0sb545XXg

— WVU Men's Basketball (@WVUhoops) November 6, 2020

The award, named after three-time NCAA champion Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, is given to the nation’s top center in all of Division I basketball. 20 student-athletes were named to the watchlist. In January the list will be pruned down to 10 candidates and then down to five in February. The winner, as chosen by Abdul-Jabbar and the Hall of Fame’s selection committee, will be announced on April 9, 2021.

Culver was the second-leading scorer and rebounder for the Mountaineers last season. He averaged 10.4 points and 8.6 rebounds in 31 games. He was recently named a preseason Big 12 honorable mention. Fellow WVU big man Oscar Tshiebwe was named to the Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year Awar Watch List yesterday.

Culver was the only player from the Big 12 named to the watch list. The full 20-player list is: