SPRINGFIELD, Mass. -- Harvard senior forward
Seth Towns is among the 20 NCAA Division I forwards named to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year Award.
Towns becomes the first Ivy League student-athletes named to the Julius Erving Award watch list since its inception in 2015. The Ivy League into the
2019-20 campaign ranked the 10th-best Division I men’s basketball.
Towns became just the third sophomore to earn Player of the Year honors since the League implemented as the 6’7 forward guided Harvard to an Ivy League title in the 2017-18 season before missing his junior campaign due to injury. The Columbus, Ohio native finished his sophomore year averaging 16.0 points and 5.7 rebounds per game. He was an AP All-America and a Lou Henson All-America honoree.
In September,
Towns was one of 16 student-athletes from around the country invited to the NCAA Elite Student-Athlete Symposium for Men's Basketball where he heard from high-ranking members of the NCAA, the NBA and a series of former college and professional players at the three-day event.
Earlier this week,
Harvard’s Bryce Aiken was named to the Bob Cousy Award Watch List, which honors the nation’s top point guard.
Julius Erving attended the University of Massachusetts and averaged 26.3 points and 20.2 rebounds per game, making him one of only six NCAA men’s basketball players to average more than 20 points and 20 rebounds per game. After two seasons, Erving made the jump to the American Basketball Association and was the league’s most recognizable player when it merged with the National Basketball Association in 1976. During his professional career, Erving won three championships, four most valuable player awards and three scoring titles. In 1996, he was named a member of the NBA’s 50
th Anniversary All-Time Team.
New to the award this season is Fan Voting presented by Dell Technologies in each of the three rounds. By mid-February, the watch list of 20 players for the 2020 Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year Award will be narrowed to just 10. In March, five finalists will be presented to Mr. Erving and the Hall of Fame’s selection committee. The winner of the 2020 Julius Erving Award will be presented at
The College Basketball Awards presented by Wendy’s in Los Angeles, CA on Friday, April 10, 2020, along with the other four members of the Men’s Starting Five.
2020 Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year Award Candidates*
| Josh Green |
Arizona |
| Matthew Hurt |
Duke |
| Scottie Lewis |
Florida |
| Corey Kispert |
Gonzaga |
| Seth Towns |
Harvard |
| Xavier Sneed |
Kansas State |
| Kahlil Whitney |
Kentucky |
| Jordan Nwora |
Louisville |
| Precious Achiuwa |
Memphis |
| Tres Tinkle |
Oregon St. |
| Alpha Diallo |
Providence |
| Nojel Eastern |
Purdue |
| LJ Figueroa |
St. John's |
| Elijah Hughes |
Syracuse |
| Chris Clarke |
Texas Tech |
| Anthony Lamb |
Vermont |
| Saddiq Bey |
Villanova |
| Jaden McDaniels |
Washington |
| CJ Elleby |
Washington State |
| Naji Marshall |
Xavier |