SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – UCLA sophomore Adem Bona has been selected to the 20-person watch list for the Karl Malone Award, presented annually to the nation's best power forward.
 
Bona, listed at 6-foot-10 and 245 pounds, secured Pac-12 Freshman of the Year honors last season. He averaged 7.7 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.7 blocks in 33 games (32 starts) for UCLA. He arrived at UCLA in the summer of 2022 after having earned McDonald's All-America acclaim as a senior at Prolific Prep in Napa, Calif.
 
Bona, who grew up in Lagos, Nigeria, ranked No. 2 in the Pac-12 in field goal percentage last season (67.5%) and was one of five student-athletes to secure Pac-12 All-Freshman team honors. He was also recognized as one of five players on the league's All-Defensive Team. Bona's single-season shooting percentage (67.5%) ranked No. 3 on the school's single-season record list, with a minimum of 75 shots made during a season.
 
Bona is one of three players from the Pac-12 Conference named to the 20-person watch list for the Karl Malone Award. Also listed from the Pac-12 are Keshad Johnson from Arizona and Tristan da Silva from Colorado.
 
College basketball's annual position-by-position watch lists, as announced by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, are being revealed this week. Earlier this week, the award watch lists were unveiled for the Bob Cousy Award (point guard), Jerry West Award (shooting guard) and Julius Erving Award (small forward).
 
Fans can participate in Fan Voting, presented by Dell Technologies, in each of the award's three rounds, beginning on Friday, Oct. 27. In late January, the watch list of 20 players will be narrowed to 10. In late February, the list will trim to five student-athletes. The winner of the 2024 Karl Malone Award will be presented on a to be determined date, along with the other four members of the Men's Starting Five.
 
The 2023-24 season will mark the 10th year in which the Karl Malone Award recognizes the nation's top power forward. The award honors former Louisiana Tech basketball standout Karl Malone, who achieve great success during his 19 seasons in the NBA. Malone was a 14-time NBA All-Star and an 11-time All-NBA First Team selection from 1989-99.
 
The list of Karl Malone Award candidates remains fluid, as student-athletes have the ability to play themselves on or off the list until the five finalists are announced.
 
For more information on this year's Karl Malone Award and all of the latest updates, log onto www.hoophallawards.com and follow @hoophallu on X (Twitter) and Instagram.
 
2023-24 Karl Malone Award Candidates
 
Enrique Freeman (Akron)
Grant Nelson (Alabama)
Keshad Johnson (Arizona)
Trevon Brazile (Arkansas)
Fouesseyni Traore (BYU)
Tristan da Silva (Colorado)
DaRon Holmes II (Dayton)
Kyle Filipowski (Duke)
Graham Ike (Gonzaga)
J'Wan Roberts (Houston)
Coleman Hawkins (Illinois)
Oso Ighodaro (Marquette)
Julian Reese (Maryland)
Norchad Omier (Miami)
Tolu Smith (Mississippi State)
Jevon Porter (Pepperdine)
Bryce Hopkins (Providence)
Adem Bona (UCLA)
Alex Karaban (UConn)
Drew Pember (UNC Asheville)