Virginia senior Malcolm Brogdon named finalist for Naismith Trophy

Virginia senior guard Malcolm Brogdon (Atlanta, Ga.) has been selected as one of four finalists for the 2016 James A. Naismith Trophy as the most outstanding men’s college basketball player, the Atlanta Tipoff Club announced Sunday (March 20).

Kentucky’s Tyler Ulis, Michigan State’s Denzel Valentine and Oklahoma’s Buddy Hield join Brogdon as finalists for the prestigious award.

Brogdon, who earned first-team All-America honors from Sporting News and the U.S. Basketball Writers Association, became the first player in Atlantic Coast Conference history to earn league player of the year and defensive player of the year in the same season.

Brogdon was the first Cavalier to earn first-team All-America honors since Ralph Sampson in 1983. Brogdon is also the first Cavalier to earn back-to-back All-America honors since Sampson from 1980-83. Brogdon was named Second-Team All-American last season. Sampson was named the Naismith National Player of the Year in 1982 and 1983.

Brogdon leads the Cavaliers in scoring at 18.6 points per game and was fourth in the

ACC in league scoring at 19.9 points per game. Brogdon was also named to the all-ACC first team for the third consecutive season, one of four Virginia players in program history to be so honored.

Brogdon and No. 1 seed Virginia (28-7) will play No. 4 seed Iowa State (23-11) in the Midwest Regional semifinals of the NCAA Tournament on Friday, March 25.

The four finalists were chosen by the Atlanta Tipoff Club’s national voting academy, comprised of leading journalists from around the country, current and former head coaches, former award winners and conference commissioners, which based their selections on outstanding on-court performances during the 2015-16 college basketball season. The vote was tabulated and certified by the accounting firm of Habif, Arogeti & Wynne, LLP. HA&W is the largest independent accounting firm in Georgia and one of the top 50 firms in the United States.

The winner will be announced on Sunday, April 3 at the Naismith Awards Brunch delivered by UPS in Houston.