Jabari Smith has made the shortlist of the top power forwards in college basketball. The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced on Thursday that Smith was one of five finalists for the 2022 Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year Award.
Auburn’s superstar freshman leads them in scoring with 16.9 points per game and is second in rebounding with 8.2 per contest. Smith has become one of the top shooters in the country, making 42.5% of his 3-point attempts.
He is the first freshman in program history to record 500 points and 200 rebounds. Smith has also recorded five double-doubles performances and 12 20+ point outings this season including a career-high 31 against Vanderbilt on Feb. 16.
The other finalist is Paolo Banchero of Duke, Chet Holmgren of Gonzaga, Keegan Murray of Iowa, and EJ Liddell of Ohio State.
The award is named after Class of 2010 Hall of Famer and two-time NBA Most Valuable Player Karl Malone, the annual honor in its eighth year recognizes the top power forwards in NCAA Division I men’s college basketball.
🏀 @jabarismithll is 1 of 5 finalist for the @Hoophall Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year Award!
Jabari is the first Auburn player to score 5️⃣0️⃣0️⃣ pts and pull down 2️⃣0️⃣0️⃣ reb in his freshman season in program history. #WarEagle x #MaloneAward pic.twitter.com/Je00jDE44C
— Auburn Basketball 🦚 (@AuburnMBB) March 3, 2022
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