The U.S. Basketball Writers Association announced the 10 finalists for the Wayman Tisdale Award to honor the nation's best freshman basketball player. The winner will be announced on March 16.
Duke's Jahlil Okafor, also a contender for the Naismith Award and Oscar Robertson Trophy as the best player in the country, headlines the freshman list. Ohio State guard D'Angelo Russell is also a finalist for both the Tisdale and Robertson awards.
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Okafor is joined on the list of Tisdale Award finalists by two of his Duke teammates — guard Tyus Jones and forward Justise Winslow. No. 1 Kentucky also has multiple freshmen on the list in forward Karl-Anthony Towns and guard Devin Booker.
The other four finalists are Indiana guard James Blackmon Jr., Arizona forward Stanley Johnson, Kansas guard Kelly Oubre and Maryland guard Melo Trimble.
The award was first given to LSU's Chris Jackson in 1989 and honors former Oklahoma star Wayman Tisdale, who was a three-time All-American before playing 13 NBA seasons. He lost a battle with cancer in 2009.