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Hurt Named Top-10 Candidate for Karl Malone Award
1/28/2021 1:11:00 PM | Men's Basketball
NAISMITH, Mass. – The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame has selected Duke sophomore Matthew Hurt as one of 10 candidates for the 2021 Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year Award.
The list of 10 will be narrowed down in late February, when five finalists are presented to Mr. Malone and the Hall of Fame's selection committee. Hurt will seek to become the second Blue Devil in three years to win the Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year Award, as Zion Williamson claimed the honor in 2019.
Duke's only player to start all 11 games this season, Hurt has established himself among the most versatile talents in the nation. The Rochester, Minn., native is averaging 19.2 points per game on .536 field goal shooting and a .458 clip from three-point range. He has also been the Blue Devils' most consistent rebounder, bringing down a team-leading 8.2 boards per contest.
Hurt's 19.2 scoring average ranks second in the ACC, while his 19.3 points per game in conference play lead the league. He is one of three players ranked in the conference's top six in scoring, rebounding (third) and field goal percentage (sixth). Hurt is the nation's only player to have scored 12+ points, shot better than .400 from the field and have 6+ rebounds in each of his team's games this season. He has recorded five 20-point games and three double-doubles this year.
Hurt and Clemson's Aamir Simms are the only two players on the list representing an ACC program.
The sophomore was also named to the midseason watch list for the John R. Wooden Award in early January. He picked up ACC Player of the Week honors and was named the Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week after leading the Blue Devils to a pair of conference wins on Jan. 6 and Jan. 9.
The winner of the Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year will be presented on Friday, April 9, 2021, along with the other four members of the Naismith Men's Starting Five. Additional awards being presented include 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, in addition to the Women's Starting Five.
For more information on the 2021 Karl Malone Award and the latest updates, log onto www.hoophallawards.com and follow @hoophall and #MaloneAward on Twitter and Instagram.
#GoDuke
The list of 10 will be narrowed down in late February, when five finalists are presented to Mr. Malone and the Hall of Fame's selection committee. Hurt will seek to become the second Blue Devil in three years to win the Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year Award, as Zion Williamson claimed the honor in 2019.
Duke's only player to start all 11 games this season, Hurt has established himself among the most versatile talents in the nation. The Rochester, Minn., native is averaging 19.2 points per game on .536 field goal shooting and a .458 clip from three-point range. He has also been the Blue Devils' most consistent rebounder, bringing down a team-leading 8.2 boards per contest.
Hurt's 19.2 scoring average ranks second in the ACC, while his 19.3 points per game in conference play lead the league. He is one of three players ranked in the conference's top six in scoring, rebounding (third) and field goal percentage (sixth). Hurt is the nation's only player to have scored 12+ points, shot better than .400 from the field and have 6+ rebounds in each of his team's games this season. He has recorded five 20-point games and three double-doubles this year.
Hurt and Clemson's Aamir Simms are the only two players on the list representing an ACC program.
The sophomore was also named to the midseason watch list for the John R. Wooden Award in early January. He picked up ACC Player of the Week honors and was named the Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week after leading the Blue Devils to a pair of conference wins on Jan. 6 and Jan. 9.
The winner of the Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year will be presented on Friday, April 9, 2021, along with the other four members of the Naismith Men's Starting Five. Additional awards being presented include 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, in addition to the Women's Starting Five.
For more information on the 2021 Karl Malone Award and the latest updates, log onto www.hoophallawards.com and follow @hoophall and #MaloneAward on Twitter and Instagram.
#GoDuke
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