ATLANTA – St. Bonaventure senior Andrew Nicholson is one of just 50 players nationally named to the Naismith Award preseason watch list, the Atlanta Tipoff Club announced Monday.
The Naismith Trophy is the most prestigious national award presented annually to college basketball’s player of the year. Other notable Naismith Men’s College Player of the Year winners include Bill Walton, Larry Bird, Michael Jordan, Patrick Ewing and last year’s winner, Jimmer Fredette.
Nicholson, who also earned a spot on the Wooden Award preseason watch list, has earned All-Conference honors in each of his three seasons at St. Bonaventure, including First Team plaudits last year. The Mississauga, Ontario native is tied with Naismith Hall of Famer Bob Lanier atop the school’s career field goal percentage (.576) and ranks 13th in program history with 1,512 points after leading the Atlantic 10 and ranking 15th nationally in scoring (20.8 ppg) as a junior.
This year’s list includes the top men’s college basketball players from 34 schools around the country, including four each from North Carolina and Kentucky.
The watch list was compiled by the Atlanta Tipoff Club’s Board of Selectors, which based its criteria on player performances from the previous year and expectations for the 2012 college basketball season. The Naismith Trophy will be awarded at the 2012 NCAA Men’s Final Four in New Orleans.
In late February, the Atlanta Tipoff Club’s Board of Selectors will compile a mid-season team of the top 30 players in the nation. Then in March, the Naismith Trophy voting academy will vote to narrow the list to the four finalists. The Naismith Trophy will be awarded at the 2012 NCAA Men’s Final Four in New Orleans.
| Last | First | School | Class | Position |
| Abromaitis | Tim | Notre Dame | GS | F |
| Barnes | Harrison | North Carolina | So | F |
| Barton | Will | Memphis | So | G |
| Beal | Bradley | Florida | Fr | G |
| Buford | William | Ohio State | Sr | G |
| Craft | Aaron | Ohio State | So | G |
| Davis | Anthony | Kentucky | Fr | F |
| Denmon | Marcus | Missouri | Sr | G |
| Drummond | Andre | Connecticut | Fr | C |
| Ezeli | Festus | Vanderbilt | Sr | C |
| Gibbs | Ashton | Pitt | Sr | G |
| Glover | Michael | Iona | Sr | F |
| Gordon | Drew | New Mexico | Sr | F |
| Green | Draymond | Michigan State | Sr | F |
| Green | JaMychal | Alabama | Sr | F |
| Hardaway Jr. | Tim | Michigan | So | G |
| Harris | Elias | Gonzaga | Jr | F |
| Henson | John | North Carolina | Jr | F |
| Holloway | Tu | Xavier | Sr | G |
| Hummel | Robbie | Purdue | Sr | F |
| Jackson | Joe | Memphis | Jr | G |
| Jenkins | John | Vanderbilt | So | G |
| Johnson | Orlando | UC Santa Barbara | Sr | G |
| Johnson-Odom | Darius | Marquette | Sr | G |
| Jones III | Perry | Baylor | So | F |
| Jones | Terrence | Kentucky | So | F |
| Jones | Kevin | West Virginia | Sr | F |
| Joseph | Kris | Syracuse | Sr | F |
| Kidd-Gilchrist | Michael | Kentucky | Fr | F |
| Lamb | Jeremy | Connecticut | So | G |
| Marshall | Kendall | North Carolina | So | G |
| McCallum | Ray | Detroit | So | G |
| McDermott | Doug | Creighton | So | F |
| Middleton | Khris | Texas A&M | Jr | F |
| Miller | Quincy | Baylor | Fr | F |
| Nelson | Reeves | UCLA | Jr | F |
| Nicholson | Andrew | St. Bonaventure | Sr | F |
| Oriakhi | Alex | Connecticut | Jr | C |
| Rivers | Austin | Duke | Fr | G |
| Robinson | Thomas | Kansas | Jr | F |
| Ross | Terrence | Washington | So | G |
| Shurna | John | Northwestern | Sr | F |
| Siva | Peyton | Louisville | Jr | G |
| Smith | Joshua | UCLA | So | C |
| Sullinger | Jared | Ohio State | So | C |
| Taylor | Jordan | Wisconsin | Sr | G |
| Taylor | Jeffery | Vanderbilt | Sr | G/F |
| Teague | Marquis | Kentucky | Fr | G |
| Young | Patric | Florida | So | F/C |
| Zeller | Tyler | North Carolina | Sr | F |
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