Seton Hall’s Myles Powell named a finalist for Naismith Trophy

Seton Hall guard Myles Powell was named one of five finalists for the prestigious 2020 Naismith Trophy, which recognizes the most outstanding men’s college basketball player.

The 6-foot-2 Trenton native would be the first Pirate to win the award should he beat out a field that also includes Udoka Azubuike (Kansas), Luka Garza (Iowa), Payton Pritchard (Oregon) and Obi Toppin (Dayton). Powell last week was named Big East Player of the Year after previously being named the league’s Preseason Player of the Year.

“You’d have a pretty good argument that he’s’ the best scoring guard in the country,” said Rutgers associate head coach Karl Hobbs,who recruited Powell while at UConn. “It’s a credit to the work that he’s put in over the years, and obviously the coaching staff at Seton Hall of building things around him.”

By visiting naismithfanvote.com, from March 20-April 1, 2020, fans will be able to cast their ballot for Powell. Fans may also vote on the @NaismithTrophy Twitter page between March 25-April 1, to select one of the finalists. The fan vote will account for five percent of the overall vote, which will be tabulated and certified by Aprio, a premier CPA-led business advisory firm, headquartered in Atlanta.

The 2020 Naismith Trophy is scheduled to be announced on April 1, 2020, and the winning player will be awarded with the Naismith Trophy, produced and provided by Herff Jones, leading provider of graduation and educational products and services designed to inspire achievement and create memorable experiences for students. A replica trophy will be donated by Herff Jones to the respective school in recognition of award recipient. The award ceremony will be held on a later date.

Powell enjoyed an epic senior season for Seton Hall, leading the Pirates to the school’s best season in nearly 30 years. The Hall finished the year 21-9 overall and 13-5 in the Big East, earning a share of the conference’s regular-season championship for the first time since 1993.

Powell and the Pirates, who started the league season 8-0, went wire-to-wire in first place in the Big East for the first time in program history. On a national scale, the team was ranked in the Associated Press top 25 for most of the season, reaching as high as No. 8, while also rating high in all the metrics used for NCAA Tournament selection (KenPom 20, NET 15, KPI 11, SOR 18, BPI 22, SAG 15).

Powell averaged 20.9 points per game, which ranked second in the Big East and 17th in the nation (fourth among players competing in power conferences), all while receiving an incredible amount of defensive attention from opponents. In Big East games, Powell was also second in the league in scoring at 20.9 points per game as well as tied for 10th in assists (3.4) and tied for eighth in steals (1.4).

Powell did his best work in hostile environments as he averaged 25.8 points in Seton Hall's nine Big East road games, leading the Pirates to a 7-2 mark in those contests, the most conference road wins in program history. His top-three road efforts included a 34-point outburst in a win at Georgetown on Feb. 5, a 29-point effort in a comeback win at then-No. 5 Butler on Jan. 15 and a 28-point, five-assist game at Marquette on Feb. 29.

Although his non-conference season was cut short due to injury, Powell performed in some of the biggest games of the early year. He scored 37 points against then-No. 3 Michigan State, which helped cement his status as one of the nation's best players. Then he set the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament record for most points scored with 74, including 32 against then-No. 11 Oregon. He averaged 25.8 points in the eight non-conference games he was able to finish without leaving due to injury.

Powell left a huge imprint on Seton Hall’s record book. He became just the fifth Pirate to ever reach 2,000 points and finished third in program history with 2,252 points. He is the program’s all-time leader in three-pointers made with 348, and he also is fifth in field goals made (736), 12th in free throws made (432), 17th in assists (303) and 13th in steals (166). His 84 wins as a Pirate are tied for sixth-most in Seton Hall history.

Pirates coach Kevin Willard said Powell has accomplished all of this despite, like Howard, constantly facing double- and triple-teams.

"My guy — I’m going to be biased — I just think what he does on a nightly basis and where he’s brought this program and where we are right now, he’s just as special a player as there is,” Willard said earlier this season. “And I think the fact that every night, he’s getting double-teamed, triple-teamed, and we’re still in first place in the Big East, he’s still playing at such a high level. It just shows you what type of player he is and how special a player he really is.”

Adam Zagoria is a freelance reporter who covers Seton Hall and NJ college basketball for NJ Advance Media.

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