Justin Edwards named to Julius Erving Award Watch List

Watch List season rolls on today with another Kentucky Wildcat making the early cut for one of the top awards in college basketball. Justin Edwards is one of 20 candidates for the Julius Erving Award, given annually to the top small forward in the sport. The five-star freshman was named Preseason First Team All-SEC by the league last week.

Edwards is the highest-ranked member of Kentucky’s No. 1 recruiting class and is considered one of the top NBA Draft prospects in all of college basketball this season. He won MaxPreps Pennsylvania High School Player of the Year after helping lead Imhotep Charter to a state championship. Edwards was a McDonald’s All-American and the Co-MVP of the Iverson Classic. In the GLOBL Jam this summer, he averaged 14.5 points and 6.5 rebounds per game, and was the star of Kentucky’s victory in the gold medal game, scoring a game-high 23 points.

Reeves, Wagner also on Hoophall Preseason Watch Lists

Earlier this week, Antonio Reeves was named to the Jerry West Award (top shooting guard) watch list, and DJ Wagner made the watch list for the Bob Cousy Award (top point guard). Later this week, we’ll find out if any Wildcats are in the running for the Karl Malone (top power forward) or the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (top center) awards.

You can help Edwards, Reeves, Wagner, and potentially more Wildcats win. Fans are encouraged to participate in voting in each of the three rounds for the Naismith Awards starting on Friday, Oct. 27. In late January, all of the lists will be narrowed down to 10 players, and five in February. Winners will be announced at a to-be-determined date.

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2024 Julius Erving Award Preseason Watch List

PLAYER NAME	SCHOOL
Jamison Battle	Ohio State
Jalen Bridges	Baylor
Tyler Burton	Villanova
Coen Carr	Michigan State
Matthew Cleveland	Miami
Tucker DeVries	Drake
Justin Edwards	Kentucky
Johnny Furphy	Kansas
Harrison Ingram	UNC
Dillon Jones	Weber State
David Joplin	Marquette
Arthur Kaluma	Kansas State
Dalton Knecht	Tennessee
Mark Mitchell	Duke
Payton Sandfort	Iowa
Baylor Scheierman	Creighton
Glenn Taylor Jr.	St Johns
Jaylon Tyson	California
Tyler Wahl	Wisconsin
Anton Watson	Gonzaga

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