Tennessee senior Admiral Schofield is one of 20 players who has been named to the 2019 Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year Award watch list, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced Wednesday.
Named after Hall of Famer and former UMass standout Julius Erving, the annual honor now in its fifth year recognizes the top small forward in Division I basketball. Previous winners include Mikal Bridges of Villanova (2018), Josh Hart of Villanova (2017), Denzel Valentine of Michigan State (2016) and Stanley Johnson of Arizona (2015).
Schofield joins Kentucky’s Keldon Johnson as the only SEC players on the initial 20-man watch list (complete list below). The list will be narrowed to 10 in mid-February, and five finalists will be selected in March. The winner will be announced at the ESPN College Basketball Awards Show after the Final Four in April.
Schofield enjoyed a breakout junior campaign last season after moving from the post to the wing. A second-team All-SEC honoree, he led the Vols in rebounding (6.3 rpg) and ranked second in scoring (13.9 ppg) and 3-pointers made (64).
The Zion, Illinois, native scored in double digits in 31 of UT’s 35 games, including 13 performances with at least 15 points. His 486 points in 35 games were more than the total number of points he scored during his first two seasons as a Vol (474 points in 61 games).
In addition to his All-SEC laurels, he also earned two SEC Player of the Week awards and was named to the 2018 SEC Tournament All-Tournament Team.
Following Tennessee’s 2018 NCAA Tournament run, Schofield went through the 2018 NBA Draft evaluation process (without hiring an agent) and took part in workouts for several NBA teams. He announced in May that he planned to return to UT for his senior season.
For more information on the 2019 Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year Award and the latest updates, log onto www.hoophallawards.com
2019 Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year Award Watch List
Dylan Windler, Belmont
Cam Reddish, Duke
Elijah Minnie, Eastern Michigan
Rui Hachimura, Gonzaga
Keldon Johnson, Kentucky
Sam Hauser, Marquette
Aaron Wiggins, Maryland
Caleb Martin, Nevada
Nassir Little, North Carolina
Louis King, Oregon
Tres Tinkle, Oregon State
Lamar Stevens Penn State
O’Shea Brissett, Syracuse
Admiral Schofield, Tennessee
Jordon Varnado, Troy
Kris Wilkes, UCLA
De’Andre Hunter, Virginia
Jaylen Hoard, Wake Forest
Matisse Thybulle, Washington
Robert Franks Jr., Washington State
Candidates can play their way onto and off of the list at any point during the season
-UT Athletics
