Gonzaga’s Drew Timme named Naismith Trophy semifinalist

Gonzaga’s Drew Timme has been named a semifinalist for the Naismith Men’s College Player of the Year award.
The senior forward and nine others made the cut on Friday, meaning all 10 are still in the running for one of the most prestigious awards in college basketball. It’s the third straight year Timme has been named a semifinalist.
Other semifinalists include Purdue’s Zach Edey, Indiana’s Trayce Jackson-Davis, Kansas State’s Keyontae Johnson, Kansas’ Jalen Wilson, UCLA’s Jaime Jaquez Jr., Arizona’s Azuolas Tubelis, Alabama’s Brandon Miller, Houston’s Marcus Sasser and Marquette’s Tyler Kolek.
Timme was named a Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year finalist on Thursday and he’s still in the mix to win the Wooden Award and Oscar Robertson Trophy, which also recognize the national player of the year in college basketball.
Earlier this week, Timme clinched the fourth West Coast Conference Tournament championship of his career, scoring 35 points in games against San Francisco and Saint Mary’s to win the tournament’s most outstanding player honors.
The senior forward broke Gonzaga’s school scoring record in a 77-51 WCC title win over rival Saint Mary’s, needing just five points Tuesday night to surpass Frank Burgess, whose mark of 2,196 points stood for more than 60 years.
Timme, named co-player of the year in the WCC along with Santa Clara’s Brandin Podziemski, enters the NCAA Tournament averaging 20.9 points per game, 7.3 rebounds per game and 3.2 assists per game – all career highs for the Richardson, Texas, native.