Ellis Named Karl Malone Award Finalist

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Kansas junior Perry Ellis has been named one of five finalists for the inaugural Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year Award presented by cConnect, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced Monday.
 
The Hall of Fame announced finalists for each of its four college basketball positional awards, introduced during the 2014-15 season. The winners of each will be determined by a combination of fan votes and input from the Hall of Fame’s selection committees. Fans are encouraged to visit www.HoophallAwards.com to cast their votes, March 9-18. The winners of the inaugural awards will be announced at ESPN’s new College Basketball Awards presented by Wendy’s Friday, April 10, 2015. The Awards will be televised live on ESPN2 at 7 p.m. (Central).
 
Ellis was recently named to the 2015 All-Big 12 Frist Team by both the Big 12 and Associated Press, adding to his Academic All-Big 12 First Team honor received last week. The Wichita native is the only player in the Big 12 to rank in the top-10 in scoring (6th, 14.2 ppg), rebounding (4th, 7.0 rpg) and field goal percentage (6th, .471). Four other players in the league check in among the top-10 in two of the three stats, but only Ellis holds a top-10 ranking in all three. A three-time Big 12 Player of the Week in 2014-15, Ellis is tied for second in the conference with seven double-doubles and has four games with 20 or more points, including three in league play. Additionally, Ellis is 12th amongst his Big 12 counterparts in free throw percentage at 71.1 percent.
 
Joining Ellis as 2015 Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year Award finalists are Kyle Wiltjer of Gonzaga, David Laury of Iona, Georges Niang of Iowa State and Montrezl Harrell of Louisville.
 
No. 9/10 Kansas (24-7, 13-5) won its unprecedented 11th-straight Big 12 regular-season championship in 2014-15. It was KU’s 15th Big 12 and NCAA-leading 58th overall conference regular-season title. Kansas will next play in the quarterfinals of the 2015 Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship, March 11-14, at Sprint Center in Kansas City, Missouri. As the No. 1 seed, Kansas will play its first game on Thursday, March 12 at 1:30 p.m. (Central), on ESPN2. KU will face the winner of the No. 8 Kansas State vs. No. 9 TCU contest to be played March 11. Kansas has won 13 conference postseason tournament titles, including nine in the Big 12 era.
 
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