Cards’ David Johnson on Naismith Trophy Watch List
November 19, 2020 | Men's Basketball
Sophomore guard is one of 50 on the preseason list to watch for national player of the year
ATLANTA, Ga. – University of Louisville sophomore guard David Johnson is one of 50 players named to the preseason watch list for the 2021 Jersey Mike's Naismith Men's Basketball Player of the Year presented by the Atlanta Tipoff Club.
The ACC and Big Ten each have eight players represented on the list, the most among conferences. Johnson was honored last week on the 11-person preseason All-ACC Team and was the leading vote-getter on the second team.
Over the last 15 games of the 2019-20 season, Johnson averaged 8.9 points, 4.4 assists, 3.8 rebounds and 1.1 steals per game while making 49.5 percent of his field goals (55-of-111). He was the ACC assists leader among freshmen in conference games, averaging 3.8 assists, 7.9 points and 3.4 rebounds in ACC games.
A 6-5, 210-pound hometown product from Louisville, Johnson missed nearly four months leading up to his freshman season after recovering from shoulder surgery. He worked his way into a prominent role on the team for the last half of the year, including a starting role in four of the last five games. Johnson is second among returning scorers for the Cardinals this year (6.3 ppg) and is the returning leader in assists (2.8 apg), He scored 37 points in his first 12 games before totaling 134 points in the last 15 games.
"The beginning of the season is filled with excitement, optimism and anticipation as each team and every player is undefeated, making the race for the Jersey Mike's Naismith Trophy wide open. While these 50 candidates are those to keep an eye on, there will be plenty of others who will enter the competition throughout the season," said Eric Oberman, executive director of the Atlanta Tipoff Club. "This year will be especially exciting as players who were unable to finish their seasons last year have even more to prove."
A list of the midseason 30 team will be released in early February, followed by the 10 national semifinalists and four finalists on March 4, 2021, and March 16, 2021, respectively. Players who do not make the watch list are still eligible to be selected for the midseason 30 team. The 2021 Jersey Mike's Naismith Trophy will be awarded during the Final Four at the Naismith Awards Brunch on April 4, 2021.
2021 Jersey Mike's Naismith Trophy Men's Preseason Watch List
Name, Class, School
Joel Ayayi , Jr., Gonzaga
Scottie Barnes , Fr., Florida State
Charles Bassey , Jr., Western Kentucky
B.J. Boston, Fr., Kentucky
James Bouknight, So., UConn
Garrison Brooks, Sr., North Carolina
Greg Brown, Fr., Texas
Jared Butler, Jr., Baylor
Marcus Carr, Jr., Minnesota
Terrence Clarke, Fr., Kentucky
Kofi Cockburn, So., Illinois
Jalen Crutcher, Sr., Dayton
Cade Cunningham, Fr., Oklahoma State
Oscar da Silva, Sr., Stanford
Ayo Dosunmu, Jr., Illinois
Marcus Garrett, Sr., Kansas
Luka Garza, Sr., Iowa
Collin Gillespie, Sr., Villanova
Kellan Grady, Sr., Davidson
A.J. Green, Jr., Northern Iowa
Sam Hauser, Sr., Virginia
Aaron Henry, Jr., Michigan State
Matthew Hurt, So., Duke
Trayce Jackson-Davis, So., Indiana
Jalen Johnson, Fr., Duke
Keyontae Johnson, Jr., Florida
David Johnson, So., Louisville
Corey Kispert, Sr., Gonzaga
Isaiah Livers, Sr., Michigan
Caleb Love, Fr., North Carolina
Sandro Mamukelashvili, Sr., Seton Hall
Remy Martin, Sr., Arizona State
Caleb Mills, So., Houston
Evan Mobley, Fr., USC
Wendell Moore Jr., So., Duke
Yves Pons, Sr., Tennessee
Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, So., Villanova
Colbey Ross, Sr., Pepperdine
Fatts Russell, Sr., Rhode Island
Javonte Smart, Jr., LSU
Chris Smith, Sr., UCLA
Jalen Suggs, Fr., Gonzaga
MaCio Teague, Sr., Baylor
Drew Timme, So., Gonzaga
Oscar Tshiebwe, So., West Virginia
Trendon Watford, So., LSU
Trevion Williams, Jr., Purdue
Ziaire Williams, Fr., Stanford
McKinley Wright IV, Sr., Colorado
Marcus Zegarowski, Jr., Creighton
About the Atlanta Tipoff Club
Founded during the 1956-57 season, the Atlanta Tipoff Club is committed to promoting the game of basketball and recognizing the outstanding accomplishments of those who make the game so exciting. The Atlanta Tipoff Club administers the Naismith Awards, the most prestigious national honors in all of college and high school basketball. Named in honor of Dr. James Naismith, inventor of the game of basketball, the family of Naismith Awards annually recognizes the most outstanding men's and women's college and high school basketball players and coaches. Other Naismith Awards are presented to the men's and women's college basketball defensive players of the year, as well as lifetime achievement awards to basketball officials and outstanding contributors to the game. UCLA's Lew Alcindor received the first Jersey Mike's Naismith Trophy in 1969, while the late Anne Donovan (Old Dominion) was the inaugural women's recipient in 1983. Corporate partners of the Naismith Awards include Jersey Mike's and Werner Ladder.
About Jersey Mike's Subs
Jersey Mike's Subs, with more than 2,500 locations open and under development nationwide, serves authentic fresh sliced/fresh grilled subs on in-store freshly baked bread — the same recipe it started with in 1956. Passion for giving in Jersey Mike's local communities is reflective in its mission statement "Giving…making a difference in someone's life." For more information, please visit jerseymikes.com or follow us on Facebook (facebook.com/jerseymikes), Instagram (instagram.com/jerseymikes), and Twitter (twitter.com/jerseymikes.com).
The ACC and Big Ten each have eight players represented on the list, the most among conferences. Johnson was honored last week on the 11-person preseason All-ACC Team and was the leading vote-getter on the second team.
Over the last 15 games of the 2019-20 season, Johnson averaged 8.9 points, 4.4 assists, 3.8 rebounds and 1.1 steals per game while making 49.5 percent of his field goals (55-of-111). He was the ACC assists leader among freshmen in conference games, averaging 3.8 assists, 7.9 points and 3.4 rebounds in ACC games.
A 6-5, 210-pound hometown product from Louisville, Johnson missed nearly four months leading up to his freshman season after recovering from shoulder surgery. He worked his way into a prominent role on the team for the last half of the year, including a starting role in four of the last five games. Johnson is second among returning scorers for the Cardinals this year (6.3 ppg) and is the returning leader in assists (2.8 apg), He scored 37 points in his first 12 games before totaling 134 points in the last 15 games.
"The beginning of the season is filled with excitement, optimism and anticipation as each team and every player is undefeated, making the race for the Jersey Mike's Naismith Trophy wide open. While these 50 candidates are those to keep an eye on, there will be plenty of others who will enter the competition throughout the season," said Eric Oberman, executive director of the Atlanta Tipoff Club. "This year will be especially exciting as players who were unable to finish their seasons last year have even more to prove."
A list of the midseason 30 team will be released in early February, followed by the 10 national semifinalists and four finalists on March 4, 2021, and March 16, 2021, respectively. Players who do not make the watch list are still eligible to be selected for the midseason 30 team. The 2021 Jersey Mike's Naismith Trophy will be awarded during the Final Four at the Naismith Awards Brunch on April 4, 2021.
2021 Jersey Mike's Naismith Trophy Men's Preseason Watch List
Name, Class, School
Joel Ayayi , Jr., Gonzaga
Scottie Barnes , Fr., Florida State
Charles Bassey , Jr., Western Kentucky
B.J. Boston, Fr., Kentucky
James Bouknight, So., UConn
Garrison Brooks, Sr., North Carolina
Greg Brown, Fr., Texas
Jared Butler, Jr., Baylor
Marcus Carr, Jr., Minnesota
Terrence Clarke, Fr., Kentucky
Kofi Cockburn, So., Illinois
Jalen Crutcher, Sr., Dayton
Cade Cunningham, Fr., Oklahoma State
Oscar da Silva, Sr., Stanford
Ayo Dosunmu, Jr., Illinois
Marcus Garrett, Sr., Kansas
Luka Garza, Sr., Iowa
Collin Gillespie, Sr., Villanova
Kellan Grady, Sr., Davidson
A.J. Green, Jr., Northern Iowa
Sam Hauser, Sr., Virginia
Aaron Henry, Jr., Michigan State
Matthew Hurt, So., Duke
Trayce Jackson-Davis, So., Indiana
Jalen Johnson, Fr., Duke
Keyontae Johnson, Jr., Florida
David Johnson, So., Louisville
Corey Kispert, Sr., Gonzaga
Isaiah Livers, Sr., Michigan
Caleb Love, Fr., North Carolina
Sandro Mamukelashvili, Sr., Seton Hall
Remy Martin, Sr., Arizona State
Caleb Mills, So., Houston
Evan Mobley, Fr., USC
Wendell Moore Jr., So., Duke
Yves Pons, Sr., Tennessee
Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, So., Villanova
Colbey Ross, Sr., Pepperdine
Fatts Russell, Sr., Rhode Island
Javonte Smart, Jr., LSU
Chris Smith, Sr., UCLA
Jalen Suggs, Fr., Gonzaga
MaCio Teague, Sr., Baylor
Drew Timme, So., Gonzaga
Oscar Tshiebwe, So., West Virginia
Trendon Watford, So., LSU
Trevion Williams, Jr., Purdue
Ziaire Williams, Fr., Stanford
McKinley Wright IV, Sr., Colorado
Marcus Zegarowski, Jr., Creighton
About the Atlanta Tipoff Club
Founded during the 1956-57 season, the Atlanta Tipoff Club is committed to promoting the game of basketball and recognizing the outstanding accomplishments of those who make the game so exciting. The Atlanta Tipoff Club administers the Naismith Awards, the most prestigious national honors in all of college and high school basketball. Named in honor of Dr. James Naismith, inventor of the game of basketball, the family of Naismith Awards annually recognizes the most outstanding men's and women's college and high school basketball players and coaches. Other Naismith Awards are presented to the men's and women's college basketball defensive players of the year, as well as lifetime achievement awards to basketball officials and outstanding contributors to the game. UCLA's Lew Alcindor received the first Jersey Mike's Naismith Trophy in 1969, while the late Anne Donovan (Old Dominion) was the inaugural women's recipient in 1983. Corporate partners of the Naismith Awards include Jersey Mike's and Werner Ladder.
About Jersey Mike's Subs
Jersey Mike's Subs, with more than 2,500 locations open and under development nationwide, serves authentic fresh sliced/fresh grilled subs on in-store freshly baked bread — the same recipe it started with in 1956. Passion for giving in Jersey Mike's local communities is reflective in its mission statement "Giving…making a difference in someone's life." For more information, please visit jerseymikes.com or follow us on Facebook (facebook.com/jerseymikes), Instagram (instagram.com/jerseymikes), and Twitter (twitter.com/jerseymikes.com).
