Wisconsin senior forward Micah Potter has been named a candidate for the 2021 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Award on Friday.
Potter is one of 20 watch list candidates, and one of five from the Big Ten, for the nation’s best center. The Mentor, Ohio native is Wisconsin’s third candidate for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award and first since Ethan Happ in 2019.
In the six-year history of the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award, two Badgers have taken home the honor, most recently Ethan Happ in 2019 and Frank Kaminsky in 2015 as the inaugural winner.
Potter missed the first semester of the 2019 season because of NCAA transfer rules, but he ended up averaging 10.9 points, 6.9 rebounds and hit 54.2 percent from the field (46.9% 3FG).
Reuvers candidate for Karl Malone Award
Badger forward Nate Reuvers has been named a candidate for the 2021 Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year Award by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on Thursday.
Reuvers is one of 20 watch list candidates, one of three from the Big Ten, for the nation’s best power forward. He becomes the second Badger to be named a candidate for the Karl Malone Award, joining Nigel Hayes (2017).
A Third-Team All-Big Ten honoree last season, Reuvers has become one of the Badgers’ most reliable producers, averaging 13.1 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game in 2019-20. The Lakeville, Minnesota native scored in double figures in 24 of 31 games last year, including 12 of the final 15 games.
Reuvers was a defensive presence for the Badgers with 58 blocks last season, which tied for the seventh-highest single-season total in UW history. He enters his senior season tied for third in UW history with 144 career blocks, needing just 11 more to break Ethan Happ’s school record (154).