PJ Washington named to Naismith Trophy Midseason Watch List

@MrsTylerKSR

How good has PJ Washington been lately? The sophomore is one of 30 players on the midseason watch list for the Naismith Trophy, given annually to the national player of the year.

PJ leads Kentucky in scoring (14.4 points per game) and rebounding (8.1 rebounds per game), and has scored 20 or more points in six of the last seven games. During that stretch, he’s had three double-doubles and is shooting 52.0 percent from the floor and 50.0 percent from 3-point range.

Washington is one of only three players from the SEC on the list along with Tennessee’s Admiral Schofield and Grant Williams.He’s also one of 10 midseason finalists for the Karl Malone Award, which honors the nation’s best power forward.

Here’s the complete list of candidates:

PLAYER	CLASS	POSITION	SCHOOL	CONFERENCE
Nickeil Alexander-Walker	So.	G	Virginia Tech	ACC
R.J. Barrett	Fr.	F	Duke	ACC
Phil Booth	Sr.	G	Villanova	BIG EAST
Ignas Brazdeikis	Fr.	F	Michigan	Big Ten
Jordan Caroline	Sr.	G/F	Nevada	Mountain West
Brandon Clarke	Jr.	F	Gonzaga	WCC
Chris Clemons	Sr.	G	Campbell	Big South
Jarrett Culver	So.	G	Texas Tech	Big 12
Jarron Cumberland	Jr.	G	Cincinnati	AAC
Mike Daum	Sr.	F	South Dakota State	Summit League
Carsen Edwards	Jr.	G	Purdue	Big Ten
Kyle Guy	Jr.	G	Virginia	ACC
Rui Hachimura	Jr.	F	Gonzaga	WCC
Ethan Happ	Sr.	F	Wisconsin	Big Ten
Markus Howard	Jr.	G	Marquette	BIG EAST
De’Andre Hunter	So.	G	Virginia	ACC
Cameron Johnson	Sr.	G	North Carolina	ACC
Dedric Lawson	Jr.	F	Kansas	Big 12
Caleb Martin	Sr.	F	Nevada	Mountain West
C.J. Massinburg	Sr.	G	Buffalo	MAC
Luke Maye	Sr.	F	North Carolina	ACC
Ja Morant	G	So.	Murray State	OVC
Eric Paschall	Sr.	F	Villanova	BIG EAST
Shamorie Ponds	Jr.	G	St. John’s	BIG EAST
Admiral Schofield	Sr.	G	Tennessee	SEC
Marial Shayok	Sr.	G	Iowa State	Big 12
P.J. Washington	So.	F	Kentucky	SEC
Grant Williams	Jr.	F	Tennessee	SEC
Zion Williamson	Fr.	F	Duke	ACC
Cassius Winston	Jr.	G	Michigan State	Big Ten

The list will be narrowed to ten semifinalists on March 4. The four finalists will be announced on March 19 and the trophy will be awarded during the Final Four.

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