Per Duke Sports Information
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Duke freshman forward Marvin Bagley III moved another step closer to bringing home the Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year Award on Thursday when he was named to the list of the final five players in contention.
Bagley leads Duke in scoring with an average of 20.8 points per game while shooting .603 from the floor, .360 from beyond the arc and .623 from the charity stripe. He leads the ACC in rebounding, pulling down 11.2 rebounds per game and is the one of three players nationally – and the only freshman – to average at least 20.0 points and 10.0 rebounds.
The Phoenix, Ariz., native became just the second player in ACC history to sweep the conference’s Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year Awards and was a unanimous selection for All-ACC and All-Freshman honors. The final five in contention for the Karl Malone Award are Bagley, DeAndre Ayton (Arizona), Jordan Murphy (Minnesota), Luke Maye (North Carolina), and Mike Daum (South Dakota State).
Bagley has scored in double figures in 26 of the 27 games he has appeared in and has 19 double-doubles, which is sixth in the NCAA and second-most among freshmen. He is aiming to become the 13th player in ACC history and the first freshman to lead the league in scoring and rebounding, currently sitting in second in scoring and first in rebounding.
Bagley has broken a litany of Duke freshman records. With his 34 points and 15 rebounds in a win over Texas, he tied Duke’s freshman scoring record and became the first freshman to record a 30-15 game. He broke Duke’s freshman rebounding record by corralling 21 boards against Florida State to go along with 32 points. That was just the seventh 30-20 game in Duke history and the first by a freshman. Bagley has also broken the freshman season records in 30-point games (six), double-doubles (19), 20-10 games (11) and dunks (80).
Along with his ACC honors, Bagley has been named first-team All-American by both Sporting News and USA Today. He is also a finalist for the John R. Wooden Award and the James Naismith Award.
