Henri Veesaar’s breakout season has him firmly on the national radar

Can you believe we're already past the halfway point of the college basketball season?

It's the first week in February and we're just one month from the regular season ending and conference tournaments starting.

The UNC basketball program was hopeful when they signed Henri Veesaar in the transfer portal last summer that he would be the big man that was missing during the 2024-2025 season. And wow! Has he more than exceeded expectations in Chapel Hill?

Of course no one knew how he would transition to life in Chapel Hill after his time in Arizona. But he definitely has became a fan favorite for all Tar Heel fans.

Veesaar has been the perfect big man to compliment star freshman Caleb Wilson, and in some ways, he's the most important piece for the Tar Heels.

When Veesaar isn't on the floor, the Tar Heels see a significant drop off in their production and get worse.

So naturally, when a player is as important to his team as Veesaar has been to the 2025-2026 Tar Heels, you can certainly expect some award watch list to take notice. As we approach just past the halfway point, mid-season award watch list are now being released.

Veesaar has found himself named to the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Mid-Season Top 10 Candidates Award Watch list.

The Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award was created in 2015 and is an award given annually by the Naismith College Basketball Hall of Fame to the nation's top performing center.

If Veesaar keeps dominating his position as he has through the first 22 games of this season, he can certainly make his case for winning this award this season and becoming the first player from the Atlantic Coast Conference to do so. The Tar Heels have some big-time games ahead, ones that will keep Veesaar in the national spotlight if he continues to play at this current level.