Maryland Terrapins forward Jalen Smith is one of 10 semifinalists for the Naismith Player of the Year award, which goes to the nation’s top men’s college basketball player, the Atlanta Tipoff Club announced Thursday.
Hours later, Smith was named one of five finalists for the Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year award.
Smith is averaging 15.4 points, 10.5 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game as a sophomore and is tied for third in the country with 20 double-doubles. He has a .564 field goal percentage and 14 double-doubles in Big Ten play, leading the league in both categories.
The forward also stepped up his 3-point game, making .378 from beyond the arc this year and .429 in conference games, compared to .268 overall as a freshman.
Joining Smith on the Naismith list are Kansas center Udoka Azubuike, Duke center Vernon Carey Jr., Kansas guard Devon Dotson, San Diego State guard Malachi Flynn, Iowa center Luka Garza, Marquette guard Markus Howard, Seton Hall guard Myles Powell, Oregon guard Payton Pritchard and Dayton forward Obi Toppin.
Toppin is the favorite to win the award, with +120 odds from Bovada as of Monday.
Toppin, Gonzaga’s Killian Tillie, BYU’s Yoeli Childs and Mississippi State’s Reggie Perry join Smith on the list of finalists for the Malone.
The Naismith winner will be announced April 5, the day between the Final Four and the national championship game. Maryland has had only one Naismith winner in program history, Joe Smith in 1995.
Smith is also one of 20 candidates for the Wooden Award, another award for the best player in the nation.
Smith was a four-star recruit from Baltimore who headlined Maryland’s loaded freshman class in 2018, which also included Eric Ayala, Aaron Wiggins and Ricky Lindo Jr. As a freshman, he teamed up down low with then-sophomore center Bruno Fernando to give the Terrapins their so-called “twin towers” in the frontcourt.
Fernando left for the NBA after the 2018-19 season. As a result, Smith has become Maryland’s de facto center playing in the middle of a four-out, one-in offense this season.
Nicknamed “Stix” for his lanky frame, Smith has become a fan favorite. In February the program held a Smith-themed game in which the first 500 fans to arrive were given athletic goggles — “Stix specs” — akin to the ones Smith himself wears.
Smith and senior guard Anthony Cowan have led No. 9 Maryland (23-7 overall, 13-6 Big Ten) to the top of the conference standings. With the college season heading to its final stages, one pertinent question besides the Terrapins’ March Madness hopes is how Smith projects as a pro.
NBA mock drafts peg the 6-foot-10, 225-pound Smith as a late first or early second-round pick.
“Teams are beginning to take Smith more seriously now that he’s physically stronger, making a 3-pointer per game and averaging 2.3 blocks,” Bleacher Report basketball scout Jonathan Wasserman wrote. “Even if it’s tough to picture significant upside, his three-and-D potential as a big is worth coveting this late.”
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