Black Named To Julius Erving Award Watch List

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced today the 20 watch-list members for the 2023 Julius Erving Award. University of North Carolina graduate student Leaky Black is on the list.

Named after Class of 1993 Hall of Famer and 16-year professional basketball player Julius Erving, the annual honor in its ninth 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 we look to the new season starting, we are excited to watch the stars on the watch list take the court and showcase their abilities which led to this recognition," said John L. Doleva, President and CEO of the Basketball Hall of Fame. "We are honored to have the great 'Dr. J' assist our knowledgeable selection committee as they evaluate these student-athletes."

2023 Julius Erving Award Candidates*

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

*Players can play their way onto and off of the list at any point in the 2022-23 season*

Fans are encouraged to participate in Fan Voting, presented by Dell Technologies, in each of the three rounds beginning Friday, October 28. In late January, the watch list of 20 players for the 2023 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.

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).

For more information on the 2023 Julius Erving Award and the latest updates, visit hoophallawards.comand follow @hoophall and #ErvingAward on Twitter and Instagram.

Players Mentioned

Leaky Black

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