SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Two American Athletic Conference standouts – Gary Clark of Cincinnati and Temple’s Obi Enechionyia – have been named to the Watch List for the Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year Award, the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame announced today.
Clark and Enechionyia join Shake Milton, Jalen Adams, Landry Shamet (Bob Cousy Award), Rob Gray (Jerry West Award) and Jacob Evans and Markis McDuffie (Julius Erving Award) as American players named to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame’s watch lists this week.
“Karl Malone is unquestionably one of the greatest power forwards, a truly gifted player and an exemplary teammate,” said John L. Doleva, President and CEO of the Basketball Hall of Fame. “He had a phenomenal career and we are privileged to present an award bearing his name for the best power forward in the college game today.”
Clark, a preseason second team all-conference pick, averaged 10.8 points and 7.9 rebounds during the 2016-17 season while earning selection to the American Championship All-Tournament team. He ranked among the league leaders in field goal percentage (fourth at .529), rebounds (fourth at 7.9), blocks (tied for ninth at 1.2) and scoring (26th at 10.8). The senior enters the 2017-18 campaign ranked third in the nation among returning players with 819 career rebounds. He needs two points to join UC's 1,000-point club and is on pace to finish his career ranked among the top five players in school history for rebounds and blocks.
Enechionyia started all 32 games for Temple in his junior year, averaging 13.1 points to go along with a team-high 5.8 rebounds. The 6-10 forward was able to step out and hit 2.3 three-pointers per game, the fourth-best mark in The American. Enechionyia was named the MVP of the NIT Season Tip-Off after averaging 19.0 points and 10.0 rebounds in leading the Owls to wins over Florida State and West Virginia.
Karl Malone attended Louisiana Tech University due to its close proximity to his hometown of Summerfield, Louisiana. He led the Bulldogs to a Sweet 16 appearance and earned All-Southland honors in his three seasons while averaging 18.7 points and 9.3 rebounds per game. Malone achieved great success during his 19 seasons in the NBA as a 14-time NBA All-Star (1988-98, 2000-02), 11-time All-NBA First Team player (1989-99) and a member of the NBA’s 50
th Anniversary All-Time Team. He also won two Olympic gold medals (1992, 1996).
“With this award, we have been able to recognize some extraordinarily talented student-athletes in college basketball over the past three seasons,” said Karl Malone, a 2010 inductee of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. “It is an honor to be associated with such an award and I hope the young men named to this watch list feel a sense of pride in being recognized for their efforts.”
By mid-February, the watch list of 21 players for the 2018 Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year Award will be narrowed to just 10. In March, five finalists will be presented to Mr. Malone and the Hall of Fame’s selection committee. The winner of the 2018 Karl Malone Award will be presented at the ESPN College Basketball Awards Show presented by Wendy’s in Los Angeles, CA on Friday, April 6, 2018. Broadcast information will be released at a later date.
Previous winners of the Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year Award include Johnathan Motley, Baylor (2017), Georges Niang, Iowa State (2016) and Montrezl Harrell, Louisville (2015). For more information on the 2018 Karl Malone Award, log onto
www.HoophallAwards.com.
2018 Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year Award Candidates
| DeAndre Ayton |
Arizona |
| Nana Foulland |
Bucknell |
| Gary Clark Jr. |
Cincinnati |
| Marvin Bagley III |
Duke |
| Wendell Carter Jr. |
Duke |
| Nick Mayo |
Eastern Kentucky |
| Yante Maten |
Georgia |
| Rokas Gustys |
Hofstra |
| PJ Washington |
Kentucky |
| Moritz Wagner |
Michigan |
| Jordan Murphy |
Minnesota |
| Alize Johnson |
Missouri St. |
| Bonzie Colson II |
Notre Dame |
| Mike Daum |
South Dakota St. |
| Reid Travis |
Stanford |
| Obi Enechionyia |
Temple |
| Dylan Osetkowski |
Texas |
| Robert Williams |
Texas A&M |
| Zach Smith |
Texas Tech |
| William Lee |
UAB |
| Bennie Boatwright |
USC |