UNC Basketball: Luke Maye named to award watch list

Luke Maye was named to the Karl Malone award watch list which spotlights the best power forwards in college basketball

University of North Carolina senior Luke Maye is ready for his final run with the Tar Heels this season in hopes of returning to his third Final Four in his career.

Maye will begin his final season with a road game at Wofford on November 6th and the Tar Heels are currently prepping for the start of the season with practices in the Dean Dome. The senior forward will be a key piece for the Tar Heels this year and after breaking out in his junior year, he made his name known to the national audience.

His hard work paid off by being named to the All-ACC First Team and now going into this season, he’s been named to a preseason award watch list.

Last week Maye was one of 20 players to be named to the preseason watch list for the Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year Award by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

The award has been handed out annually to the top power forward in college basketball since the 2015 season with Deandre Ayton (2018), Johnathan Motley (2017), Georges Niang (2016) and Montrezl Harrell (2015) all previously winning it.

In February, the list of nominees will be trimmed down to 10 and then five finalists will be named in March. A winner for the award will be announced at the College Basketball Awards on April 12, 2019 in Los Angeles. The award is part of the Naismith Starting 5 series and Maye’s teammate, Nassir Little, was named to the Julius Erving Small Forward Award as well.

To see the full list of nominees please visit the NCAA’s official press release.

Maye saw an uptick in playing time during his junior year, being inserted into the starting lineup for the Tar Heels. He responded by posting a career high in points per game (16.9) and rebounds (10.1).

The forward was also 15th in the country with 17 double-doubles in 37 games played. He’s expected to start once again for the Tar Heels in 2018-19 and hopefully he can match or eclipse the production from a year ago.

For more on Maye and the UNC Basketball program, please check back with Keeping It Heel.