Utah's Timmy Allen Named To 2021 Julius Erving Award Watch List

Utah hasn't finalized its 2020-21 college basketball schedule yet, but junior forward Timmy Allen was recently named to the 2021 Julius Erving Award Watch List, given annually to the nation's best small forward

Utah head coach Larry Krystkowiak and his team got some great news back on July 9 when forward Timmy Allen announced via social media that he was withdrawing his name from the NBA draft and returning to the Utes.

Let’s run it back! @timmybuckets35

#GoUtes🏀🔴 pic.twitter.com/0GL92QAi68

— Utah Basketball (@UtahMBB) July 10, 2020

Allen's return was arguably Krystkowiak's best recruiting victory of the offseason as he gives the team a bonafide star to build around — and Krystkowiak isn't alone in thinking like that.

The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame recently named  Allen to the 2021 watch list for the Julius Erving Award, given annually to the nation's best small forward. He is one of 20 players to be on the watch list and just the third Pac-12 player represented, joining Stanford's Ziaire Williams and UCLA' Chris Smith.

The full list of the Julius Erving Award watch list is below...

• Derrick Alston Jr. — Boise State
• Jalen Johnson — Duke
• Wendell Moore — Duke
• Jayden Gardner — East Carolina
• Keyontae Johnson — Florida
• Corey Kispert — Gonzaga
• Brandon Boston Jr. — Kentucky
• D.J. Jeffries — Memphis
• Aaron Wiggins — Maryland
• Isaiah Livers — Michigan
• Aaron Henry —Michigan State
• Ron Harper Jr. — Rutgers
• Matt Mitchell — San Diego State
• Ziaire Williams — Stanford
• Yves Pons — Tennessee
• Terrence Shannon Jr. — Texas Tech
• Chris Smith — UCLA
• Jermaine Samuels — Villanova
• Sam Hauser — Xavier
• Timmy Allen — Utah

S/O to our guy @timmybuckets35 on being named to the @Hoophall #ErvingAward Watch List! ⚡️🏀🔴 https://t.co/bUA5iGgPgk

— Utah Basketball (@UtahMBB) November 4, 2020

Allen was named to the all-Pac-12 second team last year after he averaged 17.3 points, 7.3 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.2 steals per game.

He finished last season with six double-doubles, showcasing all-around play-making ability in games against UCLA (13p, 8a, 7r), BYU (27p, 5r, 5a) and USC (21p, 10r, 3a). But there were also times when Allen struggled from the field, particularly when teams packed the paint against him as his lack of any sort of jumpshot hindered his game towards the end of the season.

While his production drastically rose from his freshman season, Allen's shooting percentages dropped dramatically as he shot 44.1% from the field and 21.1% from three-point territory.

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Twitter — @UtahUtes_SI and Ryan Kostecka at @Ryan_Kostecka