Toppin named to watch list for college basketball’s most prestigious award

The list will be narrowed to 30 players in mid-February. Ten semifinalists will be named on March 5, and four finalists will be named on March 17. The winner will be honored at the Atlanta Tipoff Club during the Final Four at the Naismith Awards Brunch on April 5.

Two other players from the Atlantic 10 Conference were named to the list: Davidson’s Kellan Grady and Jon Axel Gudmundsson. Former Dayton recruit McKinley Wright, a junior at Colorado, made the list as did Ohio State’s Kaleb Wesson, Xavier’s Naji Marshall and Cincinnati’s Jarron Cumberland.

Toppin was named to the watch list for the Karl Malone Award in October. Toppin had 10 points on 5-of-7 shooting in 19 minutes Saturday in a 93-60 victory against Cedarville University in an exhibition game. Dayton opens the season at 7 p.m. Saturday against Indiana State.