ATLANTA – Gonzaga's
Corey Kispert and
Drew Timme were named to the Naismith Trophy Men's College Player of the Year Semifinalist List, the Atlanta Tipoff Club released Thursday.
Kispert, the West Coast Conference Player of the Year, is a finalist for the Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year Award for the second straight season. He currently leads the West Coast Conference in scoring at 19.50 points per game. He is shooting a phenomenal 55.6 percent from the field, which is second in the conference. The senior is second in the league making 2.83 three-pointers per game at a WCC-best 46.3 percentage, which is fourth in the nation. He is fourth in the conference shooting 64.9 percent inside-the-arc. Kispert is first in the WCC with an 88.9 free-throw percentage. He has scored in double-digits in all but one game this season, reaching 20 points 11 times. The Edmonds, Wash., native, boasts a 119-10 career record in games he's appeared in. He has the highest winning percentage in Div. 1 over the last 25 years for at least 100 appearances. He's scored 1,459 points in career, and is sixth in GU history with 247 three-pointers. Kispert received First Team All-WCC honors for the second straight season.
Timme, a First Team All-Conference selection, is a finalist for the Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year Award. He is second in the conference in scoring at 18.92 points per game, at a league-leading 65.1 percent from the field, which is fourth in the country. He is third in the WCC making 67.1 percent from inside-the-arc. His 7.08 rebounds per game is also third in the conference. He has started all 24 games for GU, scoring in double digits 23 times. Timme also has a team-high 11 20-point games this season, including a career-high 29 versus Virginia. He was WCC All-Freshman Team in 2020-21.
The four finalists will be announced on March 16, and beginning March 19 through 31, fans will have a chance to vote for their favorite player of the four by visiting naismithtrophy.com/vote to cast their ballot. The fan vote will account for five percent of the overall vote. The 2021 Naismith Trophy will be awarded on April 4.
The four finalists will be chosen by the Atlanta Tipoff Club's national voting academy, comprised of leading journalists from around the country, current and former head coaches, former award winners and conference commissioners, all of whom base their selections on outstanding on-court performances during the 2020-21 college basketball season.
Gonzaga is the top seed at the 2021 West Coast Conference Championships. The Zags open the tournament in the semifinals on March 8.
2020-21 Naismith Trophy Semifinalists
| Jared Butler |
Jr. |
G |
Baylor |
Big 12 |
| Cade Cunningham |
Fr. |
G |
Oklahoma State |
Big 12 |
| Hunter Dickinson |
Fr. |
C |
Michigan |
Big Ten |
| Ayo Dosunmu |
Jr. |
G |
Illinois |
Big Ten |
| Luka Garza |
Sr. |
C |
Iowa |
Big Ten |
| Quentin Grimes |
Jr. |
G |
Houston |
AAC |
| Herbert Jones |
Sr. |
F/G |
Alabama |
SEC |
| Corey Kispert |
Sr. |
F |
Gonzaga |
WCC |
| Evan Mobley |
Fr. |
F |
USC |
Pac-12 |
| Drew Timme |
So. |
F |
Gonzaga |
WCC |
