SAN DIEGO – Malachi Flynn, point guard for the 28-1 and No. 5-ranked San Diego State Aztecs, is one of the 10 semifinalists for the Citizen Naismith Trophy, which is awarded to the men's player of the year. The Atlanta Tipoff Club made the announcement from its offices in Atlanta, Ga.
The Tacoma, Wash., native leads the Aztecs in points (17.6/g), assists (148), assists per game (5.1/g), assist-to-turnover ratio (3.02:1), steals (51), field goals (167), three-point field goals (68) and free throws (108). He ranks first in the Mountain West in assists, steals and assist-to-turnover ratio and is third in free throw percentage (85.7 percent), fourth in scoring, fifth in field goal percentage (44.7 percent) and three-pointers per game (2.34).
Nationally, based on games through Feb. 29, Flynn ranks in the top-100 in assist-to-turnover ratio (No. 9), is No. 45 in free throw percentage, No. 48 in assists, No. 52 in assists per game, No. 68 in steals, No. 77 in steals per game (1.76/g), and No. 93 in points per game and total points (510).
Four finalists will be announced on March 17, 2020, and beginning March 20 through April 1, 2020, fans will have a chance to vote for their favorite player by visiting naismithtrophy.com/vote to cast their ballot. The fan vote will account for five percent of the overall vote. The 2020 Citizen Naismith Trophy will be awarded at the Naismith Awards Brunch presented by Invesco QQQ on April 5, 2020, during the Men's Division I Championship weekend in Atlanta.
2020 Citizen Naismith Trophy Semifinalist
Udoka Azubuike, Kansas
Vernon Carey Jr., Duke
Devon Dotson, Kansas
Malachi Flynn, San Diego State
Luka Garza, Iowa
Markus Howard, Marquette
Myles Powell, Seton Hall
Payton Pritchard, Oregon
Jalen Smith, Maryland
Obi Toppin, Dayton
-SDSU-