Dia on Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Watch List

Nov 1, 2024 – The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame continues to unveil their watch lists for their “Naismith Starting 5” awards for the 2024-25 season, picking the top 20 for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year on Friday and selecting Ole Miss’ Malik Dia to the list.

The Belmont transfer was a third-team all-conference selection last year and was named to the MVC All-Newcomer team, averaging 16.9 points and 5.8 rebounds per game while shooting 48.8 percent from the field. In his first action in an Ole Miss uniform, Dia paced the Rebels in their exhibition with No. 24 Illinois after scoring 18 points while going 7-8 from the field in 19 minutes.

Past winners of the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award include Zach Edey, Oscar Tshiebwe, Luka Garza, and Frank Kaminsky.

Dia is joined on the preseason watch list by Hunter Dickinson of Kansas, Ryan Kalkbrenner of Creighton, Oumar Ballo of Indiana, and more of college basketball’s top players.

The top 10 for each award will be announced on February 3, 2025, and fan voting for the awards will open. Winners will be unveiled on April 4.

Ole Miss opens their regular season on Monday, November 4 when they host Long Island in the SJB Pavilion at 7:30 p.m.