WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – National Player of the Year and All-America candidate Caleb Swanigan is 1-of-10 players nationally named to the Karl Malone Award top 10 finalists list, the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame announced today.
Given to the nation’s top power forward, the list has been whittled down from 20 candidates in October to the 10 announced today. In March, five finalists will be presented to Mr. Malone and the Hall of Fame’s selection committee for the 2017 Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year Award. The winner of the 2017 Karl Malone Award will be presented at ESPN’s College Basketball Awards, presented by Wendy’s, live from The Novo by Microsoft in downtown Los Angeles on Friday, April 7, 2017. Broadcast information will be released at a later date.
Swanigan is joined on the list by Arizona’s Lauri Markkanen, Baylor’s Johnathan Motley, California’s Ivan Rabb, Memphis’ Dedric Lawson, Michigan State’s Miles Bridges, Notre Dame’s Bonzie Colson, Pittsburgh’s Michael Young, UCLA’s T.J. Leaf and Valparaiso’s Alec Peters.
Swanigan is having a sensational year for the 18-5 Boilermakers, thrusting his name into national Player of the Year consideration. The 6-foot-9 sophomore from Fort Wayne, Indiana, is averaging 18.8 points, 12.9 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game while shooting 55.2 percent from the field and 50.0 percent from 3-point range. He leads the nation in double-doubles with a school-record 19 and is second in the country in rebounding.
Swanigan is on pace to become just the second player nationally in the last 25 years to score 600 points, grab 400 rebounds and dish out 100 assists in a single season. He already ranks ninth on the single-season rebounds list (296) and his four Big Ten Player of the Week honors are already tied for the third most in league history. His 19 double-doubles are the second most for a Big Ten player in the last eight years, just behind Draymond Green’s 22 in 2011-12.
Swanigan and the Boilermakers travel to No. 17-ranked Maryland on Saturday for a key Big Ten showdown. Tip is scheduled for noon on ESPN.