9 February 2023
MANHATTAN, KS. (KSNT) – K-State’s Keyontae Johnson is a top 10 candidate for the Julius Irving award, which goes to the nation’s best small forward.
The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame announced the top 10 Wednesday.
Johnson is averaging a team-best 18 points on 52.2% shooting from the field, including 39.3% from 3-point range. He’s also averaging 7.6 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.2 steals in 33.0 minutes per game. He has scored in double figures in all 24 games so far, which includes seven 20-point games.
Fellow Big 12 player Jalen Wilson is also on the list, along with Alabama’s Brandon Miller, Creighton’s Baylor Scheierman, Florida State’s Matthew Cleveland, Gonzaga’s Julian Strawther, Ohio State’s Brice Sensabaugh, Texas Tech’s Kevin Obanor, UCLA’s Jaime Jaquez, Jr. and Xavier’s Colby Jones.
K-State fans can support Johnson’s candidacy for the award by participating in Fan Voting starting Friday, Feb. 10, on hoophallawards.com. The Fan Vote will count as one committee vote during the finalist selection process.
Five finalists for the Erving Award will be announced in March with the winner being announced in April.