The difference between University of Central Florida center Tacko Fall‘s game between his first and second seasons is night and day. Fall, who averaged 7.4 points, 5.9 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game, has been named a finalist for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Award. In his second year at UCF and his first under first-year head coach Johnny Dawkins, Fall is averaging 12.2 points, 9.9 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game in 22 games.
Fall joins nine others players from schools like the University of California, Los Angeles, Gonzaga University and the University of Wisconsin. Fall is the only player from the American Athletic Conference.
At 7-foot-6, Fall is leading the 10 finalists in blocks and field-goal percentage (0.757). His rebounding average is also good enough for second-highest among his fellow finalists.
Of the 10 finalists currently named, five will move onto another round in March. On April 7, the winner will be announced at ESPN’s College Basketball Awards.
| School | Player |
| Brigham Young University | Eric Mika |
| University of Central Florida | Tacko Fall |
| Creighton University | Justin Patton |
| Unviersity of Georgia | Yante Maten |
| Gonzaga University | Przemek Karnowski |
| Lehigh University | Tim Kempton |
| Saint Mary’s College | Jock Landale |
| University of California, Los Angeles | Thomas Welsh |
| Washington State University | Josh Hawkinson |
| University of Wisconsin | Ethan Happ |
