October 30, 2026 | Men's Basketball
Senior earns second preseason honor
MADISON, Wis. - Wisconsin men's basketball senior Nolan Winter has been named to the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Preseason Watch List, the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame announced on Friday
The award recognizes the top centers in Division I men's college basketball and is named after Hall of Famer and three-time NCAA champion Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
It's Winter's second major honor of the preseason after being named to the Preseason All-Big Ten Team earlier this month. The Lakeville, Minnesota, native averaged 13.1 points and 8.5 rebounds per game last season.
Winter had 12 double-doubles for the team in the 2025-26 season, which was the second most in the conference. The 7-foot tall big man continues to become more and more valuable for the Badgers and has become a leader as a senior with lots of experience under his belt.
Winter hopes to add himself to a great list of players who have won the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award in the history of the Wisconsin basketball program. Frank Kaminsky won the award back in 2015, and later on Ethan Happ won it in 2019.
The Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award Watch List will be narrowed throughout the season as players compete for the honor. The award is part of the Naismith Starting Five, which recognizes the nation's top players at each position.
Winter and the Badgers open the 2026-27 regular season against Denver on Monday at the Kohl Center. Tipoff is set for 6:30 p.m. and the game will be streamed on B1G+.
