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https://daytonflyers.com/documents/2023/2/9/Malone_Award_Top_Ten_2.09.23.docx.pdf
Malone Award Goes To The Top Power Forward In College Basketball
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – University of Dayton forward DaRon Homes II has been named to the 2023 Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year Top 10 List.
Holmes, who last season was the Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year, Second Team All-Atlantic 10 and the only freshman named to the A-10’s All-Defensive Team 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.
The other players named as semifinalists for the Malone award are Kyle Filipowski (Duke), Enrique Freeman (Akron), Bryce Hopkins (Providence), Trayce Jackson-Davis (Indiana), Kris Murray (Iowa), Norchad Omier (Miami), Drew Timme (Gonzaga), Azuolas Tubelis (Arizona) and Hunter Tyson (Clemson),
A 6-foot-10 sophomore forward from Goodyear, Ariz., Holmes leads the nation in dunks (69, eight ahead of Purdue’s Zach Edey). A versatile player, Holmes is the only player in the Atlantic 10 Conference in the league’s top five in scoring (fifth, 17.6), rebounding (fourth, 7.9) , field goal percentage (third, 59.4%) and blocked shots (first, 1.9).
Holmes averaged 20.0 ppg. over his last five games of the 2021-22 season (vs. A-10 regular season champion Davidson, two A-10 tournament games and two NIT games).
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.
Interestingly, the last three Karl Malone Award winners were sophomores when they won the award – Obi Toppin in 2020, Gonzaga’s Drew Timme in 2021 and Iowa’s Keegan Murray in 2022.
Fans are encouraged to participate in Fan Voting, presented by Dell Technologies, in each of the three rounds beginning Friday, October 28. 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 2023 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, February 10. Click here to #VoteForDeuce.
For more information on the 2023 Karl Malone Award and the latest updates, visit hoophallawards.com and follow @hoophall and #MaloneAward
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