Texas Tech University Athletics
Obanor selected to Erving Award Top 10 list
February 08, 2023 | Men's Basketball
LUBBOCK, Texas – Texas Tech senior Kevin Obanor has been selected by the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame as a Top 10 candidate for the 2023 Julius Erving Award.
Obanor, who has recorded 2,028 points and 1,034 rebounds in his career, leads the Red Raiders this season with 15.3 points and 6.3 rebounds this season. He earned All-Big 12 Honorable Mention last season in his first year at Tech following three seasons at Oral Roberts. He is joined on the prestigious watch list by Brandon Miller (Alabama), Baylor Scheierman (Creighton), Matthew Cleveland (Florida State), Julian Strawther (Gonzaga), Jalen Wilson (Kansas), Keyontae Johnson (Kansas), Brice Sensabaugh (Ohio State), Jaime Jaquez (UCLA) and Colby Jones (Xavier). In March, five finalists will be presented to Erving and the Hall of Fame's selection committee.
Named after Class of 1993 Hall of Famer and 16-year professional basketball player Julius Erving, the annual honor in its ninth year recognizes the top small forwards in Division I men's college basketball. Erving played two seasons at UMass where he averaged 26.3 points and 20.2 rebounds before turning professional.
Obanor has started all 60 games since his transfer to Tech and helped lead the Red Raiders to the Sweet 16 last season. This year, he's scored in double figures in 17 of 23 games with a season-high 26 points against Kansas in a performance where he made four 3-pointers and also had seven rebounds. He has recorded two double-doubles this season, with 24 points and 13 rebounds in a win over No. 13 Iowa State after having 25 points and 10 rebounds in a non-conference win over Eastern Washington. He now has 37 double-doubles, 106 double-figure scoring performances and 33 games of scoring 20 or more points through 146 games in his college career.
Fans can support their favorite players in the remaining rounds by participating in Fan Voting, presented by Dell Technologies, starting Friday on hoophallawards.com. The Fan Vote will count as one committee vote during the finalist selection process.
The Selection Committee for the Julius Erving Award is composed of top men's college basketball personnel including media members, head coaches, sports information directors and Hall of Famers. The winner of the 2023 Julius Erving Award will be presented on a to be determined date, along with the other four members of the Men's Starting Five. Additional awards being presented include the Bob Cousy Award (Point Guard), Jerry West Award (Shooting Guard), Karl Malone Award (Power Forward) and the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award (Center), in addition to the Women's Starting Five.
Previous winners of the Julius Erving Award are Wendell Moore Jr, Duke (2022), Corey Kispert, Gonzaga (2021), Saddiq Bey, Villanova (2020), Rui Hachimura, Gonzaga (2019), Mikal Bridges, Villanova (2018), Josh Hart, Villanova (2017), Denzel Valentine, Michigan State (2016) and Stanley Johnson, Arizona (2015). For more information on the 2023 Julius Erving Award and the latest updates, visit hoophallawards.com and follow @hoophall and #ErvingAward on Twitter and Instagram.
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Obanor, who has recorded 2,028 points and 1,034 rebounds in his career, leads the Red Raiders this season with 15.3 points and 6.3 rebounds this season. He earned All-Big 12 Honorable Mention last season in his first year at Tech following three seasons at Oral Roberts. He is joined on the prestigious watch list by Brandon Miller (Alabama), Baylor Scheierman (Creighton), Matthew Cleveland (Florida State), Julian Strawther (Gonzaga), Jalen Wilson (Kansas), Keyontae Johnson (Kansas), Brice Sensabaugh (Ohio State), Jaime Jaquez (UCLA) and Colby Jones (Xavier). In March, five finalists will be presented to Erving and the Hall of Fame's selection committee.
Named after Class of 1993 Hall of Famer and 16-year professional basketball player Julius Erving, the annual honor in its ninth year recognizes the top small forwards in Division I men's college basketball. Erving played two seasons at UMass where he averaged 26.3 points and 20.2 rebounds before turning professional.
Obanor has started all 60 games since his transfer to Tech and helped lead the Red Raiders to the Sweet 16 last season. This year, he's scored in double figures in 17 of 23 games with a season-high 26 points against Kansas in a performance where he made four 3-pointers and also had seven rebounds. He has recorded two double-doubles this season, with 24 points and 13 rebounds in a win over No. 13 Iowa State after having 25 points and 10 rebounds in a non-conference win over Eastern Washington. He now has 37 double-doubles, 106 double-figure scoring performances and 33 games of scoring 20 or more points through 146 games in his college career.
Fans can support their favorite players in the remaining rounds by participating in Fan Voting, presented by Dell Technologies, starting Friday on hoophallawards.com. The Fan Vote will count as one committee vote during the finalist selection process.
The Selection Committee for the Julius Erving Award is composed of top men's college basketball personnel including media members, head coaches, sports information directors and Hall of Famers. The winner of the 2023 Julius Erving Award will be presented on a to be determined date, along with the other four members of the Men's Starting Five. Additional awards being presented include the Bob Cousy Award (Point Guard), Jerry West Award (Shooting Guard), Karl Malone Award (Power Forward) and the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award (Center), in addition to the Women's Starting Five.
Previous winners of the Julius Erving Award are Wendell Moore Jr, Duke (2022), Corey Kispert, Gonzaga (2021), Saddiq Bey, Villanova (2020), Rui Hachimura, Gonzaga (2019), Mikal Bridges, Villanova (2018), Josh Hart, Villanova (2017), Denzel Valentine, Michigan State (2016) and Stanley Johnson, Arizona (2015). For more information on the 2023 Julius Erving Award and the latest updates, visit hoophallawards.com and follow @hoophall and #ErvingAward on Twitter and Instagram.
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Players Mentioned
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