Labissiere Named to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar List

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Freshman Skal Labissiere was named Friday to the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar watch list, which recognizes the nation’s top center by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. 

Labissiere joins teammates Alex Poythress and Tyler Ulis who were tabbed to preseason honors for small forwards and point guards, respectively on Tuesday. 

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 player in his class by both Rivals and Scout. Labissiere poured in 11 points and pulled down 12 rebounds in 19 minutes of action in the Jordan Brand Classic game to highlight his prep career. 

Labissiere joins Vanderbilt’s Damian Jones as the only players from the Southeastern Conference to earn recognition to the preseason watch list.

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 second annual ESPN College Basketball Awards Show in Los Angeles on April 8.