Nigel Williams-Goss named to 2017 Naismith watchlist

Gonzaga guard Nigel Williams-Goss was named to the 2017 Naismith watchlist. The Naismith Award is the equivalent of the NCAA player of the year, so to speak. He is one of 50 players to receive the honor.

Williams-Goss has been attracting plenty of preseason hype. He was named to the Bob Cousy Award Watch List, which is an award given to the nation’s top point guard. SB Nation rated him as the No. 23 best player in the country.

He averaged 15.6 points and 5.9 assists per game for Washington in the 2014-15 season. Williams-Goss was hamstrung by an injury for much of last season while he redshirted. However, it looks like he is operating at full strength, at least if his 20 points in Gonzaga’s exhibition win are any indicator.

The Naismith Trophy watchlist will be trimmed down to 30 players in February. Here are all the players that are on the preseason watch list:

• Edrice (Bam) Adebayo, Kentucky
• Grayson Allen, Duke
• Jarrett Allen, Texas
• Dwayne Bacon, Florida State
• Lonzo Ball, UCLA
• V.J. Beachem, Notre Dame
• Joel Berry II, North Carolina
• James Blackmon Jr., Indiana
• Jaron Blossomgame, Clemson
• Trevon Bluiett, Xavier
• Chris Boucher, Oregon
• Miles Bridges, Michigan State
• Dillon Brooks, Oregon
• Thomas Bryant, Indiana
• Troy Caupain, Cincinnati
• Tyler Davis, Texas A&M
• Jawun Evans, Oklahoma State
• De'Aaron Fox, Kentucky
• Markelle Fultz, Washington
• Jack Gibbs, Davidson
• Harry Giles, Duke
• Devonte’ Graham, Kansas
• Ethan Happ, Wisconsin
• Josh Hart, Villanova
• Nigel Hayes, Wisconsin
• Malcolm Hill, Illinois
• Josh Jackson, Kansas
• Justin Jackson, North Carolina
• Kris Jenkins, Villanova
• Peter Jok, Iowa
• Moses Kingsley, Arkansas
• Bronson Koenig, Wisconsin
• Dedric Lawson, Memphis
• Tyler Lydon, Syracuse
• Lauri Markkanen, Arizona
• Frank Mason III, Kansas
• E.C. Matthews, Rhode Island
• Malik Monk, Kentucky
• Monte Morris, Iowa State
• Jonathan Motley, Baylor
• Austin Nichols, Virginia
• London Perrantes, Virginia
• Alec Peters, Valparaiso
• Ivan Rabb, California
• Dennis Smith Jr., NC State
• Edmond Sumner, Xavier
• Caleb Swanigan, Purdue
• Jayson Tatum, Duke
• Melo Trimble, Maryland
• Nigel Williams-Goss, Gonzaga