Editor: Part of the following comes from hoophallawards.com.
(Springfield, MA) — The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame announced the 20 watch-list members for the 2024 Julius Erving Award. Named after Class of 1993 Hall of Famer and 16-year professional basketball player Julius Erving, the annual honor, in its tenth year, recognizes the top small forwards in Division I men’s college basketball. A national committee of top college basketball personnel determined the watch list of 20 candidates.
“As the 2023-24 season approaches, we are excited to watch the small forwards on the 2024 Julius Erving Award Watch List take the court and prove why we have selected them as the Top 20 to watch this season,” said John L. Doleva, President and CEO of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. “We are honored to have the great ‘Dr. J’ assist our selection committee as they evaluate these student-athletes throughout the season.”
Drake forward Tucker DeVries is the lone Missouri Valley Conference player to be named to any of the Naismith ‘watch lists’. The Valley’s preseason and reigning ‘Player of the Year’ averaged 18.6 points and 5.7 rebounds for the Arch Madness champions. His accolades include being the MVC’s 2022 ‘Freshman of the Year’ and the 2023 ‘Most Outstanding Player’ of Arch Madness.
Fans are encouraged to participate in Fan Voting, presented by Dell Technologies, in each of the three rounds beginning Friday, October 27. In late January, the watch list of 20 players for the 2024 Julius Erving Award will be narrowed to 10, and then in late February, to just five. In March, the five finalists will be presented to Erving and the Hall of Fame’s selection committee, where a winner will be selected.
Former Illinois State guard Antonio Reeves (Kentucky) is on the Jerry West, shooting guard watch list along with St. Louisian Caleb Love (Arizona). Murray State’s Ja Morant is the only player from either the Missouri Valley or Ohio Valley Conferences to win one of these awards when he claimed the 2019 Bob Cousy Award as the nation’s top point guard.
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As we near the closing of the portal window, we've reached 1900. Some of them never to play college basketball again, earn a college degree and some to play at a much lower level than they did last season.
I guess we'll be seeing this in a @RacersHoops uniform this year. Glad AJ is staying in the @ValleyHoops.
