UCLA’s Jaime Jaquez Jr. Makes Revised Julius Erving Award Watch List

Another one of the Bruins' longest-tenured stars is up for a national positional honor.

UCLA men's basketball senior Jaime Jaquez was one of 10 players named to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame's revised Julius Erving Award Watch List on Wednesday. The award is given to the nation's top small forward, and Jaquez is on the late season watch list for the second year in a row.

Jaquez was a top-five finalist for the Erving Award in 2022 before Duke's Wendell Moore wound up winning it. The 2023 finalists will be revealed in March.

Joining Jaquez on the watch list this time around are Florida State's Matthew Cleveland, Kansas State's Keyontae Johnson, Xavier's Colby Jones, Alabama's Brandon Miller, Texas Tech's Kevin Obanor, Gonzaga's Julian Strawther, Creighton's Baylor Scheierman, Ohio State's Brice Sensabaugh and Kansas' Jalen Wilson.

Jaquez is the only Pac-12 player currently in contention for the honor. The Big Ten and Big East have two contenders apiece, while three Big 12 players are up for the award.

Of the 10 players remaining, Jaquez, Johnson, Miller and Wilson are the only ones who made the late season watch list for the John R. Wooden Award on Jan. 30.

The Camarillo, California, native is leading UCLA with 16.3 points and 7.7 rebounds per game, and he ranks second on the team with 2.5 assists, 1.7 steals and 0.8 blocks per game. Jaquez is averaging career highs in every major count stat, in addition to shooting a career-best 49.1% from the field.

Jaquez has appeared in all 23 of the Bruins games so far this season and scored double figures in 21, leading the team to a 19-4 record and six consecutive top-10 rankings in the process.

The 6-foot-6 wing is towards the top of the Pac-12 leaderboards in several categories, ranking No. 6 in points per game, No. 5 in rebounds per game, No. 4 in steals per game, No. 5 in player efficiency rating, No. 2 in win shares, No. 5 in offensive win shares, No. 2 in defensive win shares and No. 5 in win shares per 40 minutes. On both ends of the court, Jaquez has emerged as one of the most prolific players on the West Coast and beyond.

Tyger Campbell was named to the updated Bob Cousy Award watch list on Monday, keeping him in the running to be the nation's top point guard. UCLA joins Xavier, Kansas State, Kansas and Baylor as the only schools to have multiple players still up for positional awards.

The updated Karl Malone and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award watch lists will be announced on Thursday and Friday, respectively. The Men's Starting Five winners will be revealed on a date to be determined, likely in early April.

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