The Sooner senior forward from nearby Harrah, Oklahoma, is one of 20 players nationwide who are preseason candidates for the award. The award, which began in 2014, is named after 14-time NBA All-Star Karl Malone, who played his entire 19-year career with the Utah Jazz and is widely considered the greatest NBA power forward of all-time.
Manek has started 91 of the Sooners’ last 97 games and has a career averages of 12.2 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game. He averaged 14.4 points last season, including a team-high 71 made three-pointers and three-point percentage of 38 percent.