Arizona Wildcats’ Stanley Johnson wins inaugural Julius Erving Award
Apr 11, 2015, 12:38 AM | Updated: 12:41 am
University of Arizona freshman Stanley Johnson won the inaugural Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year Award Friday at ESPN’s College Basketball Awards Show in Los Angeles.
The winners are chosen by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame selection committee with input from vans via online vote.
Johnson averaged a team-best 13.8 points to go along with 6.5 rebounds for an Arizona team that went 34-4 and reached the Elite 8 in the NCAA Tournament.
“It’s difficult to express how humbled I am to not only be named Small Forward of the Year, but to also win an award named after one of the all-time greats in the game of basketball,” Johnson said in a press release. “I want to thank the Hall of Fame selection committee, the fans who voted for me, and my family, coaches and teammates at Arizona for their support.
“I also want to congratulate all the other award winners from tonight on their great seasons. I’m thrilled to be the Julius Erving Award winner and it’s something that will always be a source of pride for me.”
Johnson, who was also the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year, was chosen out of a group of finalists that included Wisconsin’s Sam Dekker, Virginia’s Justin Anderson, Providence’s LaDontae Henton and Duke’s Justise Winslow.
