Skal Labissiere named to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar watch list

We've got another preseason honor for a Kentucky Wildcats player after freshman forward Skal Labissiere has been named to the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar watch list by the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame.

This annual award recognizes the nation's top center. Labissiere joins senior forward Alex Poythress and sophomore point guard Tyler Ulis who were tabbed to preseason honors for small forwards and point guards.

The 6-foot-11 freshman from Port-au-Prince, Haiti, was a consensus five-star recruit entering college. He was ranked as the No. 1 overall center in his class by both Rivals and Scout, and many have him projected as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft.

All of the preseason watch lists will be narrowed down to 10 in mid-February and then five finalists will be selected in March. The winners of the awards will be presented at the ESPN College Basketball Awards Show in Los Angeles on April 8.

2016 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Award Candidates

Kaleb Tarczewski, Arizona

Mamadou Ndiaye, UC Irvine

Josh Scott, Colorado

Egidijus Mockevicius, Evansville

Przemek Karnowski, Gonzaga

Thomas Bryant, Indiana

Jameel McKay, Iowa State

Cheick Diallo, Kansas

Skal Labissiere, Kentucky

Diamond Stone, Maryland

Stephen Zimmerman, UNLV

Kennedy Meeks, North Carolina

Zach Auguste, Notre Dame

AJ Hammons, Purdue

Jakob Poeltl, Utah

Damian Jones, Vanderbilt

Daniel Ochefu, Villanova

Josh Hawkinson, Washington State

Joel Bolomboy, Weber State

Devin Williams, West Virginia