McDonald named Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year Candidate by Naismith Hall of Fame

McDonald named Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year Candidate by Naismith Hall of Fame

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Story courtesy of Northen Kentucky Athletics.

HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – Preseason accolades continue to roll in for Northern Kentucky men's basketball's Drew McDonald, who was announced one of 20 candidates for the 2019 Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year Award by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Thursday afternoon.
 
The Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year Award is named in honor of former Louisiana Tech and 19-year NBA veteran Karl Malone, who is oft regarded as one of the best power forwards in the game. The award is part of the Naismith Starting 5, a series of awards presented to all five traditional positions in basketball. In addition to the Karl Malone Power Forward Award, the Naismith Hall of Fame also distributes 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.
 
"This is a tremendous honor for Drew to be named among college basketball's elite power forwards and I couldn't be more excited for him," said John Brannen, Northern Kentucky head coach. "From the moment he set foot on campus, Drew has shown an incredible desire to continue improving his game and to find ways to elevate the play of our team. This honor is representative of that commitment."
 
McDonald has steadily improved throughout his career at Northern Kentucky, building on averages of 10.5 points and 6.2 rebounds per game as a freshman to 16.4 points and 7.7 rebounds as a sophomore and, most recently, 17.0 points and 9.6 rebounds per game during his junior campaign. The native of Cold Spring, Kentucky, has been a double-double machine in his career, racking up 34 double-doubles in 97 career games played. Last season, McDonald registered 18 double-doubles, a total that ranked 11th in the nation.
 
McDonald was also recently named the Horizon League Preseason Player of the Year for the second year in a row and was given a nod as Mid-Major Madness's preseason player of the year for the league as well.
 
Northern Kentucky has experienced tremendous success with McDonald patrolling the hardwood, going a combined 46-22 over the last two seasons. The Norse also boast two Horizon League titles – the 2017 league tournament and 2018 regular-season – and made postseason appearances in the NCAA Tournament (2017) and NIT (2018).
 
The watch list will be paired down to 10 in February, and in March five finalists will be presented to Mr. Malone and the Hall of Fame's selection committee. The winner will be presented at The College Basketball Awards presented by Wendy's in Los Angeles on Friday, April 12, 2019.
 
For more information and the latest updates on the 2019 Karl Malone Award, log onto www.hoophallawards.com and follow @hoophall and #MaloneAward on Twitter and Instagram.
 
2019 Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year Award Candidates
Yoeli Childs                BYU
Zion Williamson         Duke
Juwan Morgan           Indiana
Dedric Lawson           Kansas
Dean Wade                Kansas St
Reid Travis                 Kentucky
P.J. Washington         Kentucky
Jordan Murphy         Minnesota
Jordan Brown            Nevada
Luke Maye                 North Carolina
Drew McDonald        Northern Kentucky
Chris Silva                  South Carolina
Mike Daum                South Dakota State
Grant Williams           Tennessee
Devontae Cacok         UNCW
Bennie Boatwright    USC
Simisola Shittu           Vanderbilt
Eric Paschall              Villanova
Noah Dickerson         Washington
Sagaba Konate          West Virginia
 
*Players can play their way onto and off of the list at any point in the 2018-19 season*
 
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