Arizona basketball: Lauri Markkanen named Naismith Trophy finalist

The Finnish freshman is one of 30 finalists for the top award in the sport

Despite a recent downturn in production, which led to him possibly losing his confidence against Stanford on Wednesday, Arizona Wildcats freshman forward Lauri Markkanen was named a finalist for the 2017 Naismith Trophy.

The Naismith is awarded to the top player in college basketball each season.

He is one of 30 finalists. Here is the complete list of names that were released:

This also comes on the heels of Vegas giving Markkanen 20/1 odds to be named the National Player of the Year.

Through 25 games, Markkanen is Arizona’s leading scorer (15.6 ppg) and rebounder (7.3 rpg). He also has the best three-point and free throw percentages — by far — among Wildcat players this year. Lauri is shooting 47.5% from three and 84% from the charity stripe. Kadeem Allen is the next closest from three, having dropped down to 43.4%. Kobi Simmons is second on the team in free throw shooting at 80%.

According to DraftExpress, Markkanen is the 7th-best NBA Draft prospect this year. At 7-feet and 225 pounds, his skillset is quite unique, and should translate to the NBA right away, at least on the offensive end.

Markkanen and the Wildcats return to the court Saturday night in Tucson. They will face the California Golden Bears at 8 PM MT on ESPN2.

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