Jalen Wilson One of Three Big 12 Players on Julius Erving Watch List
Three Big 12 players — including Kansas’ Jalen Wilson — are on the watch list for the Julius Erving Award, given to the nation’s best small forward.
The other selections include Texas Tech’s Kevin Obanor and Texas’ Timmy Allen.
Wilson helped the Kansas Jayhawks win the national title in April and is one of two returning starters from that team. He was all-Big 12 Third Team last season, finishing second in the Big 12 in rebounds (7.4 per game). He was third in the Big 12 with seven double-doubles. He picked up steam in the NCAA Tournament, averaging 12 points and 9.7 rebounds, including four double-doubles.
Obanor was All-Big 12 Honorable Mention last season. He averaged 10 points and 5.5 rebounds per game and led the Red Raiders with five double-doubles. He had three of them in the NCAA Tournament, including a 15-point, 15-rebound performance in the second round against Notre Dame. The Red Raiders reached the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16, where they lost to Duke.
Allen earned All-Big 12 Second Team and Big 12 All-Newcomer Team while starting all 34 games and leading the team in scoring (12.1 ppg), rebounding (6.4 rpg) and steals (42). He was ranked second in assists (71) and third in minutes (29.0 mpg). He helped the Longhorns to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
The winner of the 2023 Julius Erving Award will be presented on a to be determined date, along with the other four members of the Men’s Starting Five. Additional awards being presented include the Bob Cousy Award (Point Guard), Jerry West Award (Shooting Guard), Karl Malone Award (Power Forward) and the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award (Center), in addition to the Women’s Starting Five.
Previous winners of the Julius Erving Award are Wendell Moore Jr, (Duke, 2022), Corey Kispert, Gonzaga (2021), Saddiq Bey, Villanova (2020), Rui Hachimura, Gonzaga (2019), Mikal Bridges, Villanova (2018), Josh Hart, Villanova (2017), Denzel Valentine, Michigan State (2016) and Stanley Johnson, Arizona (2015).
2023 Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year Award Watch List
Brandon Miller, Alabama
Leaky Black, North Carolina
Pelle Larsson, Arizona
Caleb McConnell, Rutgers
Jordan Walsh, Arkansas
Harrison Ingram, Stanford
Baylor Scheierman, Creighton
Josiah Jordan-James, Tennessee
Dariq Whitehead, Duke
Timmy Allen, Texas
Matthew Cleveland, Florida State
Kevin Obanor, Texas Tech
Julian Strawther, Gonzaga
Jaime Jaquez Jr., UCLA
Jalen Wilson, Kansas
Cam Whitmore, Villanova
Chris Livingston, Kentucky
Tyler Wahl, Wisconsin
Jamison Battle, Minnesota
Colby Jones, Xavier
You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard
