The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame released its watch list for the Karl Malone Award on Thursday, highlighting the 20 players expected to compete for the title of the nation’s best power forward.
Duke’s Kyle Filipowski offered the most star power on the list. A preseason Associated Press All-American, the 7-footer averaged 15.1 points, 9.0 rebounds, 1.3 steals, and 0.7 blocks per game as a freshman a year ago. He helped lead the Blue Devils to an ACC Tournament title before their second-round loss to Tennessee in the NCAA Tournament.
Mississippi State’s Tolu Smith, a senior who averaged 15.7 points and 8.5 rebounds last season, also featured on the list. Smith injured his foot in practice earlier this month, but should he come back early enough in the season, he should be one of the SEC’s best.
Storied recent programs like Gonzaga and UConn got names on the list as well. Read below to see all 20 names recognized by the voting committee.
| Player | School |
| Enrique Freeman | Akron |
| Grant Nelson | Alabama |
| Keshad Johnson | Arizona |
| Trevon Brazile | Arkansas |
| Fousseyni Traore | BYU |
| Tristan da Silva | Colorado |
| DaRon Holmes II | Dayton |
| Kyle Filipowski | Duke |
| Graham Ike | Gonzaga |
| J’Wan Roberts | Houston |
| Coleman Hawkins | Illinois |
| Oso Ighodaro | Marquette |
| Julian Reese | Maryland |
| Norchad Omier | Miami (FL) |
| Tolu Smith | Mississippi State |
| Jevon Porter | Pepperdine |
| Bryce Hopkins | Providence |
| Adem Bona | UCLA |
| Alex Karaban | UConn |
| Drew Pember | UNC Asheville |
The list will be narrowed down to 10 in January, then five players the month after that. The winner will be selected from the five finalists in March.