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Brice Sensabaugh makes top 10 for Julius Erving Award

IMG_7408by:Andy Backstrom•02/08/23•

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Brice Sensabaugh by Kirk Irwin/Getty Images
Ohio State star freshman forward Brice Sensabaugh is second nationally among all first-year players in scoring this season. (Kirk Irwin/Getty Images)

COLUMBUS — Ohio State star freshman Brice Sensabaugh was tabbed one of the top-10 candidates for the 2023 Julius Erving Award Wednesday. The accolade is named after NBA legend Julius Erving and is given annually by the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame to the top small forward in Division I men’s college basketball.

Here’s the complete list of the top-10 candidates:

Although Ohio State has had a disappointing season and is on track to miss the NCAA Tournament for the first time in head coach Chris Holtmann’s six-year tenure, Sensabaugh has had an impressive freshman campaign. He leads the team with 17.3 points per game, the second most of any first-year player this season (Alabama’s Miller is first), and he was the Buckeyes’ top scorer for 13 straight games.

The Orlando native came off the bench at the beginning of the season but has started 13 of the last 15 games. He has reached or eclipsed the 20-point mark eight times in 2022-23.

Sensabaugh has improved as the season has progressed, showing growth — albeit not linear growth — defensively and significant strides on the glass. In fact, the 6-foot-6, 235-pound Sensabaugh is averaging 7.1 rebounds per game since Jan. 1 — a stretch in which he mounted three consecutive double-doubles. Before that, he was pulling down just 4.2 boards per outing.

Sensabaugh is on pace to become the first Buckeyes player lead the team in scoring as a freshman since D’Angelo Russell in 2014-15. Russell wound up going No. 2 overall in the 2015 NBA Draft to the Los Angeles Lakers. Sensabaugh has generated first-round draft buzz of his own, although not to quite to that level — at least at this point.

Sensabaugh is also well on his way to finishing in the top five of a handful of freshman Ohio State leaderboards. Perhaps most notably, he’s shooting 46.6% from deep, which is second all-time among Buckeyes first-year players with at least 15 makes from 3-point territory.

The award’s five finalists will be presented to Erving and the Hall of Fame’s selection committee in March. The committee is made up of head coaches, Hall of Famers, media members and sports information directors.

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