Brandon Boston makes Julius Erving Award watch list

Kentucky Wildcats freshman Brandon Boston Jr. has been named to the 2021 Julius Erving Award Preseason Watch list. The award is presented annually to the top small forward in college basketball.

Boston is one of 20 players being considered for the award and is the second different UK player to be named to a preseason watch list for a positional award after Terrence Clarke made the Jerry West Award watch list this week.

Boston joins Florida’s Keyontae Johnson and Tennessee’s Yves Pones as SEC players to earn selection to the preseason list of nominees. He is one of three freshmen to earn a preseason nod. Also included is Boston’s former high school teammate at Sierra Canyon in Stanford’s Ziaire Williams.

Named after Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer Julius Erving, this year’s award will be presented at the ESPN College Basketball Awards Show in April. Boston is looking to become the Wildcats’ first winner of the award, which is in its seventh year of existence.

A consensus five-star prospect and Kentucky’s top-ranked player in the 2020 class, Boston averaged 19.7 points and 7.0 rebounds per game at Sierra Canyon his senior season. He helped lead the team to a 30-4 mark and a No. 2 national ranking.

For his efforts, Boston was named the California Male Athlete of the Year and the California Basketball Player of the Year by USA Today. He was also tabbed a First Team Naismith All-American, Second Team Sports Illustrated All-American, SLAM Magazine All-American, California Mr. Basketball and the Gold Coast League MVP.

On the all-star circuit, Boston was selected to the McDonald’s All American Game, the Allen Iverson Roundball Classic, and the Jordan Brand Classic.

By mid-February, the watch list will be trimmed to 10 players. Five finalists will be revealed in late February with the winner being announced during the annual ESPN College Basketball Awards show on April 9. Fan voting will be a part of all three rounds of voting before a winner is announced.

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