Nick Richards makes midseason watch list for Naismith Trophy

Nick Richards may not be a finalist for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year award, but he did make the midseason watch list for the Naismith Trophy, given annually to the best player in college basketball.

Richards is the only Kentucky Wildcat to make the list and one of three players from the SEC along with Georgia’s Anthony Edwards and Arkansas’ Mason Jones. This year, he’s averaging 14.5 points and 8.2 rebounds per game and hitting 66.3% of his shots, which would break the Kentucky record for career field goal percentage if the season ended today. Through 24 games, Richards has 10 double doubles after only having one in his first two years in Lexington and the Cats are 18-1 this season when he scores in double figures.

Here’s the complete list of nominees:

FIRST NAME	LAST NAME	CLASS	POSITION	SCHOOL	CONFERENCE
Precious	Achiuwa	Fr.	F	Memphis	AAC
Udoka	Azubuike	Sr.	C	Kansas	Big 12
Kamar	Baldwin	Sr.	G	Butler	BIG EAST
Saddiq	Bey	So.	F	Villanova	BIG EAST
Jared	Butler	So.	G	Baylor	Big 12
Vernon	Carey Jr.	Fr.	C	Duke	ACC
Ayo	Dosunmu	So.	G	Illinois	Big Ten
Devon	Dotson	So.	G	Kansas	Big 12
Anthony	Edwards	Fr.	G	Georgia	SEC
Malachi	Flynn	Jr.	G	San Diego State	Mountain West
Jordan	Ford	Sr.	G	St. Mary’s	WCC
Luka	Garza	Jr.	C	Iowa	Big Ten
Markus	Howard	Sr.	G	Marquette	BIG EAST
Mason	Jones	Jr.	G	Arkansas	SEC
Tre	Jones	So.	G	Duke	ACC
Nathan	Knight	Sr.	F/C	William & Mary	CAA
John	Mooney	Sr.	F	Notre Dame	ACC
Jordan	Nwora	Jr.	F	Louisville	ACC
Daniel	Oturu	So.	C	Minnesota	Big Ten
Filip	Petrusev	So.	F	Gonzaga	WCC
Myles	Powell	Sr.	G	Seton Hall	BIG EAST
Payton	Pritchard	Sr.	G	Oregon	Pac-12
Nick	Richards	Jr.	F	Kentucky	SEC
Fatts	Russell	Jr.	G	Rhode Island	Atlantic 10
Jalen	Smith	So.	F	Maryland	Big Ten
Lamar	Stevens	Sr.	F	Penn State	Big Ten
Isaiah	Stewart	Fr.	F	Washington	Pac-12
Obi	Toppin	So.	F	Dayton	Atlantic 10
Kaleb	Wesson	Jr.	F	Ohio State	Big Ten
Cassius	Winston	Sr.	G	Michigan State	Big Ten

The list will be narrowed down to 10 in early March, four on March 17 and the winner will be announced on April 5.