Jerry Carino

@njhoopshaven

By any measure, it was a stunning omission.

Last week the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced the 10 finalists for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award, which goes to college hoops’ best center, and Angel Delgado was not among them.

The Seton Hall junior leads the nation in rebounding at 13.1 per game. He is tied for second in double-doubles with 17. At 15.0 points per game, he is the top-scoring postman in the Big East. He became the first Big East player since 2010 to post 20 points and 20 boards in a league game, then did it again the very next outing.

Yet the conference’s lone representative among the Kareem finalists is Creighton freshman Justin Patton, who averages 13.7 points and 6.3 rebounds but is a hot NBA prospect because of his athleticism and versatility.

So what the heck is going on here? In response to a Gannett New Jersey inquiry, Hall of Fame official Pat Ochoa explained the process.

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“The selections are made with input from multiple media members. They use stats, team records and the eye test to gauge their selections,” Ochoa wrote in an email. “The biggest thing to keep in consideration is that the lists are fluid, and players can play their way on or off the lists.”

So when the list is cut down to five finalists in the second week of March, Delgado’s name could appear among them.

Upon further inspection, four of the 10 semifinalists were not on the original 20-man watch list from October: Georgia’s Yante Maten (19 ppg, 7 rpg), Gonzaga’s Przemek Karnowski (12 ppg 5 rpg), Central Florida’s Tacko Fall (12 ppg, 10 rpg), and St. Mary’s Josh Landale (16 ppg, 9 rpg).

The other finalists are Patton, Lehigh’s Tim Kempton, UCLA’s Thomas Welsh, Washington State’s Josh Hawkinson, BYU’s Eric Mika and Wisconsin’s Ethan Happ.

Delgado did not make the original watch list, which is understandable, but his exclusion this time around is beyond puzzling. Perhaps Seton Hall listing Delgado at forward, even though he plays center exclusively, is part of the issue. But anyone using the eye test would know his position.

Certainly Providence is aware. Seton Hall (14-8 overall, 4-6 Big East) plays host to the Friars (14-10, 4-7) Wednesday at 8:30 p.m. (Fox Sports 1). The Hall could use a win to stay in the NCAA Tournament picture.

Providence did a reasonably good job against Delgado when these teams met in Rhode Island Jan. 14, “limiting” the big man to 12 points and 16 rebounds in a 65-61 victory.

His double-doubles and outrageous rebounding totals have become routine — further proof he belongs on that list.

Staff Writer Jerry Carino: jcarino@gannettnj.com.