Ohio State junior forward E.J. Liddell was one of 30 players selected to the Naismith Men’s College Player of the Year Midseason Team on Feb. 10 and serves as the lone Buckeye on the list. The team is designed essentially as a midseason semifinalists announcement for the Naismith Award – which goes to the sport’s best player – though a lack of inclusion on this list does not preclude a player from winning the award come season’s end.
Liddell is one of seven Big Ten players on the board, joining Illinois’ Kofi Cockburn, Indiana’s Trayce Jackson-Davis, Iowa’s Keegan Murray, Purdue’s Zach Edey and Jaden Ivey and Wisconsin’s Johnny Davis. Jackson-Davis, Murray and Liddell were all selected as finalists for the Karl Malone award on Feb. 3, too, which goes to the nation’s top power forward.
The Illinois native is averaging 19.7 points and 7.6 rebounds per game while leading the Buckeyes to a 14-6 record. He’s also leading the team in blocks (2.5) and minutes (31.5) per game while shooting 51.9 percent from the field and 40.5 percent from 3-point range.
If Liddell does win the Naismith Award, he’d be only the second Buckeye ever to do so, joining Evan Turner in 2010. The late-season team drops on Feb. 18, 10 semifinalists will be selected on March 11, and four finalists will be picked on March 22. The winner will be named on April 3.
