St. John’s junior wing Julian Champagnie has been chosen as one of the 10 candidates named to the watch list for the Julius Erving Award, presented annually by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame to the top small forward in the nation.
Champagnie earned selection to this prestigious list of finalists after solidifying a reputation as one of the most prolific scoring threats in the nation. The Brooklyn native ranks second in the BIG EAST with 18.3 points per game. He has netted 20 or more points eight times with a pair of 30-point performances, pouring in 32 at Indiana before posting a career-high 34 points in the Red Storm’s win over DePaul to open conference play.
In his first 15 games of the season, Champagnie averaged 21.1 points per outing to rank among the top 10 in the nation in scoring.
Not only a talented scorer, Champagnie also leads the Red Storm with 6.7 rebounds per contest and ranks second in the league behind teammate Posh Alexander averaging 1.9 steals.
College basketball fans are encouraged to participate in fan voting in each of the three rounds. In late February, the watch list of 10 players for the 2022 Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year Award will be narrowed to 5. In March those finalists will be presented to Mr. Erving and the Hall of Fame’s selection committee where a winner will be selected.
The winner of the 2022 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 Point Guard Award, Jerry West Shooting Guard Award, the Karl Malone Power Forward Award and the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center Award, in addition to the Women’s Starting Five.
Previous winners of the Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year Award include Corey Kispert, Gonzaga (2021), Saddiq Bey, Villanova (2020), Rui Hachimura, Gonzaga (2019), Mikal Bridges, Villanova (2018), Josh Hart, Villanova (2017) and Denzel Valentine, Michigan State (2016).
For more information on the 2022 Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year Award and the latest updates, log onto www.hoophallawards.com and follow @hoophall and #ErvingAward on Twitter and Instagram. Starting Five Fan Voting presented will go live on Friday, February 4.
2022 Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year Award Candidates
| Kendall Brown | Baylor |
| Hyunjung Lee | Davidson |
| Wendell Moore | Duke |
| Lucas Williamson | Loyola-Chicago |
| Caleb Houstan | Michigan |
| Ron Harper Jr. | Rutgers |
| Julian Champagnie | St. John’s |
| Harrison Ingram | Stanford |
| Jaime Jaquez Jr. | UCLA |
| Jermaine Samuels | Villanova |
For more information on the St. John’s Athletics Department fans are encouraged to click on the link seen here: