Pair of Wildcats tabbed finalists for national awards

For a season that continues to improve for the Kentucky Wildcats, two of head coach John Calipari’s players were recognized as finalists for national recognition on Wednesday afternoon.

First, freshman small forward Keldon Johnson was named as one of 10 finalists for the Julius Erving Award. The award will recognized the nation’s top small forward for the 2018-2019 regular season. Johnson and Tennessee’s Admiral Schofield both represent the SEC while Johnson is the only freshman of the 10 players recognized.

Johnson currently leads the team in scoring with 14 points per game. He’s also scored in double figures 17 times, which is a team-best. Johnson is performing well against the highest competition, too. His scoring average increases to 17.6 PPG when Kentucky faces a top-25 team.

Second, graduate transfer Reid Travis was named as one of 10 finalists for the 2019 Senior CLASS Award. Per UK Athletics, the candidates must be classified as a NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence in community, classroom, character and competition to be eligible for the award.

Voting by coaches, fans and media will decide the winner. Fans are encouraged to visit the award’s website to submit their votes, which should be done so by March 25th.

Travis graduated from Stanford University in June with a degree in science, technology and society before transferring to Kentucky as a graduate student this summer. He completed one semester in UK’s master’s program in health promotion with an emphasis in sport leadership. Travis is intrigued by career aspirations in technology entrepreneurship after his time in Silicon Valley.

Off the court, Travis has dedicated himself to are: serving the Ronald McDonald House while at Stanford, volunteering for his hometown church in Minneapolis and overseeing the execution of UK’s God’s Pantry.

On the court, Travis has joined Johnson and PJ Washington as one of the nation’s top-front court trios. He’s averaging 11.9 PPG and 6.9 RPG.

The other nine finalists selected for the award are: Clayton Custer (Loyola-Chicago), Mike Daum (South Dakota State), Jon Elmore (Marshall), Ethan Happ (Wisconsin), Luke Maye (North Carolina), Drew McDonald (Northern Kentucky), Josh Perkins (Gonzaga), Dylan Windler (Belmont) and Justin Wright-Foreman (Hofstra).