By Bane Rossi
10/26/2023
Malone Award Goes To The Top Power Forward In College Basketball
2024 MALONE WATCH LIST
https://daytonflyers.com/documents/2023/10/25/2024_Karl_Malone_Award_Watch_List.docx__1_.pdf
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – University of Dayton forward DaRon Homes II has been named to the 2024 Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year Watch List. Holmes, who last season was First Team All-Atlantic 10 and named to the A-10’s All-Defensive Team, is one of 20 top college players named to the watch list.
Holmes is just the second Dayton player on the Malone Watch List. Obi Toppin, who won the award after the 2019-20 season, was the first.
A 6-foot-10 junior forward from Goodyear, Ariz., Holmes led UD in scoring (18.4), and was second in rebounding (8.1.) He was the only player in the A-10 to be in the top five in both. He also led the A-10 in blocked shots (1.94). He was the Most Outstanding Player of the 2023 Men’s Basketball Championship last season.
A two-time Flyer White Allen MVP, he is the only true sophomore, fifth-youngest by age, and 12th-fastest by games played, to score 1,000 points at UD.
Some of the student-athletes on the Karl Malone Watch List include Graham Ike of Gonzaga, Grant Nelson of Alabama, J’Wan Roberts of Houston, Keshad Johnson of Arizona, Kyle Filipowski of Duke and Oso Ighodaro of Marquette.
Holmes is the only Atlantic 10 player on the list.
The award is presented by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and named after 11-time All-NBA First Team selection Karl Malone. It is part of the Hall of Fame’s “Starting Five” awards program. The other awards on the men’s side are the Bob Cousy Point Guard Award, the Jerry West Shooting Guard Award, the Julius Erving Small Forward Award and the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center Award. All five greats are members of the Naismith Hall of Fame.
Fans are encouraged to participate in Fan Voting, presented by Dell Technologies, in each of the three rounds beginning Friday, October 27. In late January, the watch list of 20 players for the 2022 Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year Award will be narrowed to 10 and then in late February to just five. In March the five finalists will be presented to Malone and the Hall of Fame’s selection committee where a winner will be selected.
The winner of the 2024 Karl Malone Award will be presented on a date to be determined, along with the other four members of the Men’s Starting Five. Additional awards being presented include the Bob Cousy Award (Point Guard), Jerry West Award (Shooting Guard), Julius Erving Award (Small Forward) and the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award (Center), in addition to the Women’s Starting Five.
Starting Five Fan Voting presented by Dell Technologies will go live on Friday, October 27 at 1 p.m. ET. Click here to #VoteForDeuce.
For more information on the 2024 Karl Malone Award and the latest updates, visit hoophallawards.com and follow #hoophall and #MaloneAward on Twitter and Instagram.
COURTESY DAYTON MEDIA RELATIONS
