Adama Sanogo named to Naismith Player of the Year Midseason Team

Adama Sanogo has performed like one of the top players in the country this season and he’s earning recognition for it. The junior big man was named to the Naismith Player of the Year Award Midseason Team — awarded annually to the best player in college basketball — and the Kareem Abdul-Jabaar Center of the Year Award.

The big man from Bamako, Mali is currently enjoying his best season yet as a Husky, averaging a Big East-best 17.2 points per game and 7.2 rebounds. After mostly being an interior player as an underclassman, Sanogo can now stretch the floor, shooting 39.4 percent from three this season. He has also scored at least 15 points and grabbed six or more rebounds in each of his last three games.

Sanogo, the Big East Preseason Player of the Year, is one of 30 players nationally to be named to the Naismith shortlist and one of four in the Big East, joining Providence’s Bryce Hopkins, Creighton’s Ryan Kalkbrenner, and Marquette’s Tyler Kolek. The Big East also has four representatives on the 10-person Abdul-Jabaar Award shortlist, with Sanogo and Kalkbrenner joining Xavier’s Jack Nunge and Joel Soriano of St. John’s.

The Abdul-Jabaar Award is open to fan voting. They can visit hoophallawards.com to vote on their selection for all positional awards once a day. The fan vote will count as one committee vote during the finalist selection process in March. UConn fans can also vote for Jordan Hawkins, who was named to the Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award watchlist, through the fan vote section.