CHICAGO (October 20, 2021) – Lucas Williamson (Chicago, Ill./Whitney Young), a graduate student on the Loyola University Chicago men's basketball team, has been selected to the 2022 Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year Award Watch List. The 6-foot-4 Williamson is one of 20 players across NCAA Division I to be named to the watch list and he is one of only four players from non-Power 6 conferences on the list. A national committee of top collegiate basketball personnel determined the candidates.
One of the top defensive players in the country and the anchor of Loyola's top-ranked scoring defense, Williamson was the 2021 Missouri Valley Conference Defensive Player of the Year and took home Second Team All-MVC recognition last season after averaging 8.8 points, 3.9 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.4 steals per game, while helping the Ramblers to a 26-5 overall record, MVC regular season and tournament titles and a NCAA Sweet 16 appearance.
The Chicago native was the team's leading scorer during the 2021 NCAA Tournament, putting up 15.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg and 2.3 apg in three postseason contests. Over the final seven outings of the season, Williamson took his offensive game to another level, scoring in double digits six times.
He will enter the 2021-22 campaign needing 119 points to reach 1,000 for his career and 91 rebounds to hit the 500 mark. Only 22 players in program history have accumulated 1,000 points and 500 rebounds over their career.
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 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), Saddiq Bey (Villanova), Rui Hachimura (Gonzaga), Mikal Bridges (Villanova), Josh Hart (Villanova), Denzel Valentine (Michigan State) and Stanley Johnson (Arizona).
College basketball fans are encouraged to participate in Fan Voting presented by Dell Technologies in each of the three rounds. In late January, the watch list of 20 players will be narrowed to 10 and then in late February to just five individuals. In March, the five finalists will be presented to Mr. Erving and the Hall of Fame's selection committee where a winner will be selected.
For more information on the 2022 Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year Award and the latest updates, please visit
www.hoophallawards.comand follow @hoophall and #ErvingAward on Twitter and Instagram. Starting Five Fan Voting presented by Dell Technologies will go live on Friday, October 22.
The 2022 Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year Award Watch List can be found below.
2022 Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year Award Candidates
Timmy Allen, Texas
Marcus Bagley, Arizona State
Patrick Baldwin Jr., Milwaukee
Emoni Bates, Memphis
Kendall Brown, Baylor
Julian Champagnie, St.John's
Matthew Cleveland, Florida State
AJ Griffin, Duke
Ron Harper Jr., Rutgers
Caleb Houstan, Michigan
Harrison Ingram, Stanford
Jaime Jaquez, UCLA
Hyunjung Lee, Davidson
Matt Mayer, Baylor
Kevin Obanor, Texas Tech
Jermaine Samuels, Villanova
Justice Sueing, Ohio State
Jabari Walker, Colorado
Lucas Williamson, Loyola
Jalen Wilson, Kansas