Keegan Murray wins 2022 Karl Malone Award
After a breakout season for the Iowa Hawkeyes, forward Keegan Murray has been officially named as the recipient of the 2022 Karl Malone Award. The award is given annually to the best power forward in all of college basketball, and Murray was selected out of a star-studded group of finalists.
Murray began his collegiate career during the 2020-2021 season at Iowa, playing in 31 games with just four starts. As a freshman, he averaged 7.2 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.3 blocks in 18 minutes per game. This season, Murray made a gigantic leap for the Hawkeyes, turning into one of the best all-around players in all of college basketball.
During this season, Murray started all 35 games for Iowa, averaging 23.5 points, 8.7 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1.3 steals, and 1.9 blocks in 31.9 minutes per game. Murray shot 55.4% from the field this season and 39.8% from three-point range.
Murray played a big role in Iowa’s success this season
Iowa had a great season this year, going 22-9 in the regular season including a 12-8 mark against Big Ten opponents. The Hawkeyes then went on an impressive run during the Big Ten Tournament with Murray leading the charge. Iowa won each of its four games in the Big Ten Tournament, ultimately beating Northwestern, Rutgers, Indiana, and Purdue on its way to the Big Ten Tournament title.
Iowa was a No. 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament, but fell to the 12th-seeded Richmond Spiders. Murray led Iowa in that loss with 21 points and nine rebounds.
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Murray was Iowa’s leading scorer in each of those Big Ten Tournament games, and there were just four games all season long where an Iowa player not named Keegan Murray led the team in scoring.
In addition to winning the Karl Malone Award, Murray is a finalist for multiple other awards. Those include the Wooden Award, Naismith Men’s Basketball Player of the Year, Lute Olson National Player of the Year, and the Lefty Driesell Defensive Player of the Year.
After his great season at Iowa, Murray will be taking his talents to the NBA next season. He recently announced his intention to enter the 2022 NBA Draft, where he is expected to become a lottery pick.