BOSTON, Mass. – The preseason accolades continue to roll in for William & Mary men's basketball senior Nathan Knight. The Tribe center was named to both the 2020 Lute Olson Player of the Year Award Preseason Watch List and the 2020 Lou Henson Mid-Major Player of the Year Preseason Watch List. Both awards are presented by CollegeInsider.com and will be handed out at the Final Four.
 
Knight is a two-time Lou Henson All-American being named a finalist for the mid-major national player of the year award in both 2018 and 2019. The 6-10 center was one of only 40 players in the country to earn a spot on the Lute Olson Watch List. Knight was one of 50 players to earn a spot on the Lou Henson Award Watch List and one of four from the CAA (Charleston's Grant Riller, Towson's Brian Fobbs and Delaware's Ryan Allen).
 
College Insider's National Player of the Year award is named in honor of Hall of Fame coach Lute Olson, who won 776 games in 34 seasons. In 24 seasons at Arizona, he led the Wildcats to 11 Pac-10 Conference titles, 23 consecutive NCAA Tournaments, four Final Four appearances and a National Championship in 1997.
 
The mid-major player of the year award is named in honor of Lou Henson, who coached 41 years. When he left the game in 2005 he was sixth all-time in career Division I wins with 779. He is the winningest coach at both Illinois and New Mexico State. He is one of only 12 coaches in the history of the game to take two schools to the Final Four.
 
Already named to the watch list for Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Award presented by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, Knight has established himself as one of the top players in the country. He has been recognized by multiple national outlets during the preseason, including NCAA March Madness, ESPN, The Athletic and Stadium.
 
The Syracuse, N.Y., native was one of five national finalists for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award last season. Knight turned in a historic campaign in 2018-19, averaging 21 points, 8.6 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.3 blocked shots per game. He was the first college basketball player since Tim Duncan at Wake Forest in 1996-97 to average 20 points, eight rebounds, three assists and two blocked shots per game.
 
In the season opener, Knight posted a 16-point, 13-rebound double-double in helping the Tribe to a 70-56 road win at High Point on Tuesday night. W&M returns to action at American on Friday night. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. in Washington, D.C., and the game will be broadcast on the Patriot League Network.
 
Tribe fans can catch the men's basketball action over the Tribe Radio Network with Jay Colley and Charlie Woollum on the call. The Tide 92.3 FM and 107.9 Bach FM are the flagship stations of the Tribe Radio Network and the audio is also available over the Web at TribeAthletics.com.