Naismith Top-10 Includes Murray State's Ja Morant

Murray State star Ja Morant was added to the list of 10 semifinalists for the 2019 Naismith Trophy that will eventually to go the national Men's Player of the Year.

Morant, one of four underclassmen on the list, leads the Racers into the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament Friday at the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana.

From Dalzell, S.C., Morant became the 15^th Murray State player to be named OVC Player of the Year this week.

Scoring 24.1 points per game and dishing out 10.3 assists per game, Morant is trying to become the first NCAA D-I player to average 20 points and 10 assists in a single season.

He has only played 61 games as a Racer, but is making a run at the all-time mark at MSU. Morant is 30 from Don Mann's record of 531 in 111 games from 1985-89.

The Naismith list will be trimmed to four finalists on March 19, 2019. From March 22 through April 3, fans will have a chance to vote for their favorite player of the four by visiting naismithtrophy.com/vote to cast their ballot. The fan vote will account for 5 percent of the overall vote. The Naismith Trophy will be awarded at the Naismith Awards Brunch on April 7, 2019, during the Final Four in Minneapolis.

Naismith Trophy Semifinalists
R.J. Barrett, Fr., F, Duke
Carsen Edwards, Jr., G, Purdue
Rui Hachimura, Jr., F, Gonzaga
Markus Howard, Jr., G, Marquette
Dedric Lawson, Jr., F, Kansas
Ja Morant, So. G, Murray State
PJ Washington, So., F, Kentucky
Grant Williams, Jr., F, Tennessee
Zion Williamson, Fr., F, Duke
Cassius Winston, Jr., G, Michigan State

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