Trevon Bluiett Named As One Of Five Finalists For The Julius Erving Award

CINCINNATI --- The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced today that Xavier University senior Trevon Bluiett is among the five finalists for the 2018 Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year Award. Named after Hall of Famer and 11-time NBA All-Star Julius Erving, the annual honor in its fourth year recognizes the top small forwards in Division I men's college basketball.

A national committee of top college basketball personnel including media members, head coaches, sports information directors and Hall of Famers narrowed the original watch list of 20 players down to 10 candidates and now just five finalists. This month, the five finalists will be presented to Mr. Erving and the Hall of Fame's selection committee. The winner of the 2018 Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year Award will be determined by a combination of fan votes and input from the Basketball Hall of Fame's selection committee. Fans are encouraged to visit www.HoophallAwards.com to cast their votes March 9-23.

"For each of the past four seasons, I've truly enjoyed the task of evaluating talent and helping to select the top small forward in the college game," said Julius Erving. "These five young men have worked tirelessly this season to prove themselves and make their teams better. It is going to be a lot of fun to watch them play down the stretch, when it matters most."

The five finalists for the 2018 Julius Erving Award are Kelan Martin (Butler), Miles Bridges (Michigan St.), Keita Bates-Diop (Ohio St.), Mikal Bridges (Villanova), and Trevon Bluiett (Xavier).

The winner of the 2018 Julius Erving Award will be honored at ESPN's College Basketball Awards presented by Wendy's in downtown Los Angeles on Friday, April 6, 2018. For more information on the Julius Erving Award, visit www.HoophallAwards.com.

Earlier this week Bluiett was named Second Team All-American by USA Today, NBC Sports, Sporting News and NCAA.com. Bluiett is also on numerous watch lists and candidate lists for National Player of the Year, including The Wooden Award presented by Wendy's, the Citizen Naismith Trophy, Associated Press National Player of the Year and the United States Basketball Writers Association's Oscar Robertson Trophy.

Bluiett earned a spot on the BIG EAST Conference First Team for the third straight year. Bluiett, a unanimous First Team selection by the league coaches, is one of only 13 players in league history to earn BIG EAST First Team honors three times.

Bluiett leads the team and is sixth in the BIG EAST in scoring at 19.4 ppg., and also leads the team in rebounding at 5.6 rpg., which ranks 15th in the BIG EAST. Bluiett, who is third in the BIG EAST in 3-point field goals per game at 3.1, has broken the Xavier career 3-point field goals record with 310 and counting.

Bluiett, who has scored 20 or more points in 18 games this season, has moved up to second place on XU's all-time scoring list with 2,187 points. Bluiett has scored 1,094 career points in BIG EAST regular season play, one of only 42 players that have reached 1,000 career BIG EAST points in league history.

No. 3/2 Xavier, 27-4, won the BIG EAST Regular Season Championship with a 15-3 record. The Musketeers are the No. 1 seed in this week's BIG EAST Tournament at Madison Square Garden. XU plays its first game on Thursday at noon against the winner of the Georgetown/St. John's game on Wednesday.

About Julius Erving: Julius Erving attended the University of Massachusetts and averaged 26.3 points and 20.2 rebounds per game, making him one of only six NCAA men's basketball players to average more than 20 points and 20 rebounds per game. After two seasons, Erving made the jump to the American Basketball Association where he shined for five years and was the league's most recognizable player when it merged with the National Basketball Association in 1976. During his professional career, Erving won three championships, four most valuable player awards and three scoring titles. In 1996, Erving was named a member of the NBA's 50^th Anniversary All-Time Team and in 1993 he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

About the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame: Located in Springfield, Massachusetts, the city where basketball was invented, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame promotes and preserves the game of basketball at every level – professional, collegiate and high school, for both men and women on the global stage.

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Trevon Bluiett Named As One Of Five Finalists For The Julius Erving Award

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