Keegan Murray wins Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year Award
The sophomore forward is the first player from the Big Ten to earn the honor in the award’s eight-year history.
Iowa forward Keegan Murray shoots the ball during the first round of the NCAA Men’s Championship between the Iowa Hawkeyes and the Richmond Spiders at KeyBank Center in Buffalo, N.Y., on Thursday, March 17, 2022. Murray earned nine rebounds. The Spiders beat the Hawkeyes, 67-63.
April 2, 2022
Iowa men’s basketball sophomore forward Keegan Murray won the Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year Award, the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame announced Saturday in New Orleans.
The Karl Malone Award has been given to the top power forward in Division I men’s basketball for the past eight years. Murray is the first Iowa and Big Ten player to win the award.
Murray broke Iowa’s single-season scoring record in 2021-22 with 822 total points. He also added 303 rebounds, 68 blocks, 66 3-pointers, and 45 steals.
The 6-foot-8 sophomore, who declared for the NBA Draft on Tuesday, is the Iowa men’s basketball program’s fourth consensus first-team All-American, joining former Hawkeyes Luka Garza, Murray Wier, and Charles Darling.
This is the third time in as many seasons that a Hawkeye has earned a national position award. Garza earned the Kareem Abdul-Jabar Center of the Year honor in 2020 and 2021.
Murray was a finalist for the Naismith and Lute Olson National Player of the Year awards. He is a finalist for the Wooden Award. The winner of the Wooden Award will be announced April 5.