Gonzaga’s Graham Ike remains in contention for some of the most prestigious honors in college basketball.
On Thursday, the senior forward from Aurora, Colorado, was named one of the 10 candidates for the 2025 Karl Malone Award, which recognizes the nation’s top power forward of the season.
Ike, who was named to the Oscar Robertson Trophy watchlist earlier this week, paces the Bulldogs (16-7, 7-3 WCC) in scoring, field goals made and rebounds. His 17.6 points per game ranks fourth in the West Coast Conference, while his 7.2 rebounds are ninth-best in the league. Ike has also collected four double-doubles.
Ike’s assertiveness and productivity as of late have helped propel him to near the top of the country in player efficiency rating. Over the last six games, he’s reached the 20-point threshold five times while shooting 65.0% from the field in that span. According to KenPom, Ike is No. 3 in offensive rating and top 10 in the site’s player of the year race.
Ike is joined on the watchlist by three other players he’s gone up against this season: Oregon State’s Michael Rataj, Baylor’s Norchad Omier and UConn’s Alex Karaban. Omier led the Bears with 15 points and nine rebounds in their 38-point loss to the Bulldogs on opening night. Karaban was held in check during Gonzaga’s run-in with UConn at Madison Square Garden, though the Huskies still prevailed while Karaban had eight points. Rataj scored a then-season-high 29 points in the Beavers’ overtime win over the Zags on Jan. 16, then had 15 points in the rematch at the Kennel almost two weeks later.
The winner of the Karl Malone Award will be presented later this season, along with the other five positional awards: Bob Cousy Award (point guard), Jerry West Award (shooting guard), Julius Erving (small forward) and the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award (center). Ike’s senior teammate Ryan Nembhard was named to the Cousy top 10 list earlier this week.
The top 10 list will be narrowed to just five in March. The five finalists will be presented to Malone and the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame’s selection committees, which include media members, head coaches, sports information directors and Hall of Famers.
Former Gonzaga standout Drew Timme took home the Karl Malone Award at the end of the 2020-21 season.
Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year Award Top 10
Johnni Broome, Auburn
Norchad Omier, Baylor
Tyson Degenhart, Boise State
Graham Ike, Gonzaga
Danny Wolf, Michigan
Michael Rataj, Oregon State
JT Toppin, Texas Tech
Yaxel Lendeborg, UAB
Alex Karaban, UConn
Eric Dixon, Villanova
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