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LSU basketball sophomore forward Trendon Watford was selected to the Karl Malone Watch list on Tuesday.
Watford returns to LSU for his second season after considering leaving the program for the NBA draft.
The Karl Malone Award is given annually to the top power forward in college basketball. The award was started in 2014 and is named after 2010 Hall of Famer and two-time NBA Most Valuable Player Karl Malone.
Watford joins 19 other college basketball players on the watch list. Other notable SEC players include Isaiah Jackson from Kentucky, John Fulkerson from Tennessee, and Kevin Marfo from Texas A&M.
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Since the award began in 2014, no player in the SEC has been the recipient of it. Watford will look to change that this season, but he will be up against some of the NCAA’s best at the position.
Last season, the Tigers’ star power forward averaged 13.6 points and 7.2 rebounds per game. The Tigers finished the 2019-2020 season with a 21-10 record and would have likely made the NCAA Tournament before the coronavirus canceled college basketball’s annual 64-team tournament.
He started 30-of-31 games as a freshman for the Tigers and had 53 assists, 22 blocks, and 27 steals while shooting 48.9% from the floor.
In SEC play, Watford averaged 13.8 points and 8.1 rebounds per game in the 18-game conference schedule.
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The winner of the 2021 Karl Malone Award will be announced on April 9, 2021.
The Tigers begin their season in November.
While the schedule has yet to be released, the NCAA set a target start date of November 25. The SEC will release the conference schedule on Friday.
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