Davis, Hogg & Williams Recognized as Preseason National Award Candidates

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – The Aggie men's basketball team was well represented during the annual rollout of national award watch lists week by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as Tyler Davis (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Award), DJ Hogg (Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year Award) and Robert Williams (Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year Award) each garnered recognition.
 
Each award list will be narrowed down to 10 in mid-February and ultimately, five finalists will be selected in March that will be presented to the various selection committees. The winners will be announced at the fourth annual ESPN College Basketball Awards Show live from Los Angeles, Calif., on Friday, April 6.
 
Following the conclusion of his sophomore campaign, Davis was honored by the SEC coaches for the second straight season with an All-SEC second-team selection after garnering SEC All-Freshman team accolades the prior year. The Plano, Texas, native paced the SEC and ranked 14^th nationally in field goal percentage by converting 62.9 percent of his shot attempts. Davis averaged 14.1 points per contest last season to rank 13^th in the league and pulled down 7.0 boards per contest, checking in at eighth in the conference in rebounding.
 
Davis notched four double-doubles last season and was also named to the U.S. Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) All-District VII Team.
 
Hogg, meanwhile, was selected to the Julius Erving Award watch list for a second straight fall and enters the 2017-18 campaign with high aspirations after seeing his sophomore season cut short due to injury. A 2016 SEC All-Freshman Team performer, Hogg played in 22 games a year ago, making 18 starts, while averaging 29.6 minutes per contest. The Plano, Texas, native averaged 12.0 points and 5.1 rebounds per contest while shooting 39.8 percent from the field and 36.7 percent from 3-point range. He also contributed 75 assists (3.4 per game), 21 blocked shots and 12 steals before an ankle injury put him on the shelf in early February.
 
A native of Oil City, La., Williams came to Texas A&M ranked as the nation's No. 50 recruit by ESPN but developed into one of the country's brightest rookies in Aggieland. Williams notched 11 double-doubles last season, the second most among all SEC players, while averaging a near double-double during league play with 12.9 points and 9.6 rebounds per contest. Also in league play, Williams led the SEC in blocked shots (46), while ranking second in both rebounding (9.6 per game), offensive rebounding (3.6 per game) and field goal percentage (.542).
 
On the defensive end, Williams stood out as one of the NCAA's most disruptive forces. He owns the nation's longest active blocked shot streak, having collected a swat in every game a year ago, while posting 22 multi-block games and eight games with four or more blocks. A three-time SEC Freshman of the Week honoree, Williams' 77 total blocked shots were 20^th-most among all Division-I players last season and the second most by an Aggie for a single season, trailing only David Harris' 108 in 1989-90.
 
Earlier this week, Davis and Williams were pegged as Preseason All-SEC with Davis standing out on the Second Team and Williams being named to the First Team as well as co-SEC Preseason Player of the Year.
 
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Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year Award Candidates

Rawle Alkins, Arizona
Kelan Martin, Butler
Jacob Evans, Cincinnati
Gary Trent Jr., Duke
Zach Norvell Jr., Gonzaga
Kevin Knox, Kentucky
Deng Adel, Louisville
Justin Jackson, Maryland
Bruce Brown Jr., Miami
Miles Bridges, Michigan St.
Tyler Hall, Montana St
Jeffrey Carroll, Oklahoma St.
Troy Brown Jr., Oregon
Vincent Edwards, Purdue
De'Monte Buckingham, Richmond
DJ Hogg, Texas A&M
Kris Wilkes, UCLA
Mikal Bridges, Villanova
Markis McDuffie, Wichita St.
Trevon Bluiett, Xavier
*Players can play their way onto and off of the list at any point in the 2017-18 season*
 

Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year Award Candidates

Nana Foulland, Bucknell
Gary Clark Jr., Cincinnati
Marvin Bagley III, Duke
Wendell Carter Jr., Duke
Nick Mayo, Eastern Kentucky
Yante Maten, Georgia
Rokas Gustys, Hofstra
PJ Washington, Kentucky
Moritz Wagner, Michigan
Jordan Murphy, Minnesota
Alize Johnson, Missouri St.
Bonzie Colson, Notre Dame
Mike Daum, South Dakota St.
Reid Travis, Stanford
Obi Enechionyia, Temple
Dylan Osetkowski , Texas
Robert Williams, Texas A&M
Zach Smith, Texas Tech
William Lee, UAB
Bennie Boatwright, USC
*Players can play their way onto and off of the list at any point in the 2017-18 season*
 

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Award Candidates

Dusan Ristic, Arizona
Austin Wiley, Auburn
Kingsley Okoroh, California
Tacko Fall, Central Florida
Marques Bolden, Duke
John Egbunu, Florida
Jessie Govan, Georgetown
Ben Lammers, Georgia Tech
Nick Richards, Kentucky
Omer Yurtseven, NC State
Isaac Haas, Purdue
Jock Landale, Saint Mary's
Angel Delgado, Seton Hall
Michael Humphrey, Stanford
Vladimir Brodziansky, TCU
Mohamed Bamba, Texas
Tyler Davis, Texas A&M
Thomas Welsh, UCLA
Chimezie Metu, USC
Ethan Happ, Wisconsin
     *Players can play their way onto and off of the list at any point in the 2017-18 season*
 
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SEASON TICKETS ON SALE

An affordable, family entertainment option, season tickets for Aggie men's basketball begin as low as $100. Annual per seat contributions are required for some seating areas of Reed Arena. Contact the 12^th Man Foundation for additional information or to order tickets by calling 888-992-4443 or logging onto www.12thMan.com/Tickets.