AMES, Iowa – Iowa State men’s basketball player Georges Niang, one of the best to ever don the Cardinal and Gold, was honored today by the ISU Athletics Department as its 2015-16 male athlete of the year. The honor comes a day after Niang was selected in the second round of the NBA Draft by the Indiana Pacers.
Niang, a Methuen, Massachusetts native, put together one of the finest seasons in Cyclone history. He took home the school’s first national individual honor when he was named the recipient of the Karl Malone Award, given annually to the top power forward in college basketball. A consensus All-American, Niang averaged 20.5 points and his 718 points were the seventh-most ever by a Cyclone and the 14th-most nationally by a player this season.
Niang, ISU’s first men’s basketball two-time All-American, also averaged a career-best 6.2 rebounds to go along with 3.3 assists per game. He was the only player in the league to rank among the top-10 players in scoring, rebounding and assists.
True to form for the rest of his career, Niang was at his best in the biggest games and at the biggest moments. Niang had a remarkable stretch to end his career in the NCAA Tournament, earning NCAA Midwest Region All-Tournament team honors after averaging 28.7 points, 6.7 rebounds and 3.3 assists in three games. He was just the fifth player in NCAA Tournament history to score 28 or more points in three consecutive games and the first in tournament history to have at least 25 points, five rebounds and three assists in three straight games.
Niang concluded his stellar career second all-time at the school in career scoring with 2,228 career points, which also ranked fourth in Big 12 history. At ISU, he was third in field goals made (849), fourth in career 3-pointers made (188), 10th in assists (421), 11th in rebounds (714), 12th in free throws made (342) and 14th in blocks (67).
Niang is the 14th men’s basketball player (16 times) to take home the award in school history.
Iowa State Male Athlete of the Year Winners
1947 Ron Norman Basketball
1948 Glen Brand Wrestling
1949 Bob Peterson Basketball
1950 Bill Weeks Football
1951 Jim Doran Football
1952 Mal Schmidt Football & Swimming
1953 Jack Erickson Football & Wrestling
1954 Max Burkett Football
1955 Chuck Duncan Basketball
1956 Gary Thompson Baseball & Basketball
1957 Gary Thompson Baseball & Basketball
1958 Frank Powell Football & Wrestling
1959 Ron Gray Wrestling
1960 Dwight Nichols Football
1961 Tom Watkins Football
1962 Dave Hoppman Football
1963 Marv Straw Basketball
1964 Gordon Hassman Wrestling
1965 Tom Vaughn Football
1966 Tom Peckham Wrestling
1967 Don Smith Basketball
1968 Don Smith Basketball
1969 Dan Gable Wrestling
1970 Dan Gable Wrestling
1971 Otto Stowe Football
1972 George Amundson Football
1973 Chris Taylor Wrestling
1974 Doug Fitzjarrell Gymnastics
1975 Al Nacin Wrestling
1976 Pete Galea Wrestling
1977 Wayne Stanley Football
1978 Mark Trippel Gymnastics
1979 Mike Land Wrestling
1980 Mike Schwartz Football
1981 Ron Galimore Gymnastics
1982 John Quinn Football
1983 Nate Carr Wrestling
1984 Bob Verbeeck Track & Field
1985 Barry Stevens Basketball
1986 Mark Diab Gymnastics
1987 Stewart Carter Wrestling
1988 Eric Hansen Swimming
Jeff Grayer Basketball
1989 Tim Krieger Wrestling
1990 Mike Busch Baseball & Football
1991 John Nuttall Cross Country and Track & Field
1992 Obinna Eregbu Track & Field
1993 Jonah Koech Track & Field
1994 Eric Akin Wrestling
1995 Fred Hoiberg Basketball
1996 Dmitry Drozdov Track & Field and Cross Country
1997 Chris Bono Wrestling
1998 Dwight Hinson Wrestling
1999 Cael Sanderson Wrestling
2000 Marcus Fizer Basketball
2001 Jamaal Tinsley Basketball
Cael Sanderson Wrestling
2002 Cael Sanderson Wrestling
2003 Seneca Wallace Football
2004 Zach Roberson Wrestling
Jake Sullivan Basketball
2005 Ellis Hobbs Football
2006 Nate Gallick Wrestling
2007 Trent Paulson Wrestling
2008 Chris Baker Golf
2009 Jake Varner Wrestling
2010 Jake Varner Wrestling
2011 Jon Reader Wrestling
2012 Nate McCoy Golf
2013 Scott Fernandez Golf
2014 Melvin Ejim Basketball
2015 Edward Kemboi Track & Field and Cross Country
Kyven Gadson Wrestling
2016 Georges Niang Basketball
