Chris Smith Named To Naismith Trophy Watch List
UCLA’S CHRIS SMITH SELECTED TO NAISMITH TROPHY WATCH LIST
Smith among 50 top college players named to preseason watch list
ATLANTA – UCLA senior Chris Smith has been named as one of 50 players to the 2021 Jersey Mike’s Naismith Trophy Watch List, as announced Thursday by the Atlanta Tipoff Club.
Smith, a 6-foot-9 guard from Chicago, averaged a team-best 13.1 points per game and was second on UCLA’s team in rebounds last season (5.4 rpg). Last week, he was named a preseason first-team All-Pac-12 selection. At the end of the 2019-20 season, Smith was named a first-team All-Pac-12 honoree and the conference’s Most Improved Player of the Year.
One of six Pac-12 players on the Naismith Trophy watch list, Smith has averaged 7.7 points and 3.6 rebounds in 97 career games. He has shot 43.8 percent from the field in three seasons but raised his shooting percentages across the board last year – overall (45.8%), 3-point (34.1%), and free throw (84.0%). He concluded the year ranking fifth in the Pac-12 in free throw percentage.
The Atlanta Tipoff Club will release a midseason list of 30 top players in early February, followed by the 10 national semifinalists and four finalists on March 4 (2021) and March 16, respectively. Players who do not make the initial watch list are still eligible to be selected to the midseason team of 30 players.
The 2021 Jersey Mike’s Naismith Trophy will be awarded during the Final Four at the Naismith Awards Brunch on April 4, 2021.
UCLA has had three student-athletes win the Naismith Trophy since the award was first created in 1969 – Lew Alcindor in 1969, Bill Walton in 1972, 1973, and 1974, and Marques Johnson in 1977.
2021 Naismith Trophy Preseason Watch List
Name School
Joel Ayayi Gonzaga
Scottie Barnes Florida State
Charles Bassey Western Kentucky
B.J. Boston Kentucky
James Bouknight Connecticut
Garrison Brooks North Carolina
Greg Brown Texas
Jared Butler Baylor
Marcus Carr Minnesota
Terrence Clarke Kentucky
Kofi Cockburn Illinois
Jalen Crutcher Dayton
Cade Cunningham Oklahoma State
Oscar da Silva Stanford
Ayo Dosunmu Illinois
Marcus Garrett Kansas
Luka Garza Iowa
Collin Gillespie Villanova
Kellan Grady Davidson
A.J. Green Northern Iowa
Sam Hauser Virginia
Aaron Henry Michigan State
Matthew Hurt Duke
Trayce Jackson-Davis Indiana
Jalen Johnson Duke
Keyontae Johnson Florida
David Johnson Louisville
Corey Kispert Gonzaga
Isaiah Livers Michigan
Caleb Love North Carolina
Sandro Mamukelashvili Seton Hall
Remy Martin Arizona State
Caleb Mills Houston
Evan Mobley USC
Wendell Moore Jr. Duke
Yves Pons Tennessee
Jeremiah Robinson-Earl Villanova
Colbey Ross Pepperdine
Fatts Russell Rhode Island
Javonte Smart LSU
Chris Smith UCLA
Jalen Suggs Gonzaga
MaCio Teague Baylor
Drew Timme Gonzaga
Oscar Tshiebwe West Virginia
Trendon Watford LSU
Trevion Williams Purdue
Ziaire Williams Stanford
McKinley Wright IV Colorado
Marcus Zegarowski Creighton