Jackson Named to Karl Malone Award Watch List

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Freshman forward Gregory “GG” Jackson II was named to the 2023 Karl Malone Award Watch List on Thursday, the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame announced.

Named after Class of 2010 Hall of Famer and two-time NBA Most Valuable Player Karl Malone, the annual honor is in its ninth year and recognizes the top power forwards in NCAA Division I men’s college basketball. A national committee of top college basketball personnel determined the watch list of 20 candidates.

Jackson, originally part of the 2023 class, reclassified over the summer to join the Gamecocks this season. A five-star prospect, he was ranked the No. 6 player in the country in the final 247Sports and No. 7 in the final On3 player rankings for the 2022 class. He became the highest ranked incoming freshman in program history and joined former standout PJ Dozier as the only five-star signees all-time for the Gamecocks (recruit rankings started in early 2000s).

A Columbia, S.C., native, Jackson helped lead Ridge View High School to back-to-back state titles in 2021 and 2022. As a junior, averaged 22.1 points, 10.9 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game in helping lead the Blazers to the 2022 South Carolina Class 5A State Championship. Jackson was named the 2021-22 South Carolina Boys Basketball Gatorade Player of the Year and the 2022 5A Boys South Carolina Basketball Coaches Association Player of the Year. He was also named MVP of the 2022 National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) Top 100 Camp in early July which annually features all of the top players in the nation.

2023 Karl Malone Award Candidates*

*Players can play their way onto and off the list at any point in the 2022-2023 season.

Fans are encouraged to participate in Fan Voting, presented by Dell Technologies, in each of the three rounds beginning Friday, October 28. In late January, the watch list of 20 players for the 2022 Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year Award will be narrowed to 10 and then in late February to just five. In March, the five finalists will be presented to Malone and the Hall of Fame’s selection committee where a winner will be selected.

The winner of the 2023 Karl Malone Award will be presented on a to be determined date, along with the other four members of the Men’s Starting Five. Additional awards being presented include the Bob Cousy Award (Point Guard), Jerry West Award (Shooting Guard), Julius Erving Award (Small Forward) and the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award (Center), in addition to the Women’s Starting Five.

Previous winners of the Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year Award include Keegan Murray, Iowa (2022), Drew Timme, Gonzaga (2021), Obi Toppin, Dayton (2020), Zion Williamson, Duke (2019), Deandre Ayton, Arizona (2018), Johnathan Motley, Baylor (2017), Georges Niang, Iowa State (2016) and Montrezl Harrell, Louisville (2015).

For more information on the 2023 Karl Malone Award and the latest updates, visit hoophallawards.com and follow @hoophall and #MaloneAward on Twitter and Instagram.

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