Arizona Basketball has been ranked by some sites as the No. 1 team in the country especially with returners Allonzo Trier and Rawle Alkins who now both are on national award watch lists.
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It’s that time of the year! Pre-season NCAA Basketball Award watch list announcement time. Yesterday Arizona Basketball point guard Allonzo Trier was named to the Jerry West Award watch list, and rightly so.
One of our favorite subjects. Arizona Basketball Rawle Alkins. Even in the midst of healing a broken bone in his foot, he is getting national recognition.
Being compared to Julius Erving is quite an honor. Dr. J, per game, averaged 26.3 points and 20.2 rebounds making him one of six NCAA men’s basketball players to average more than 20 points and 20 rebounds per game.
Over the last three years, the honor for best small forward was awarded to Arizona’s own Stanley Johnson in 2015. Johnson is playing in his third season for the Detroit Pistons who just used the Team Option to keep him on their roster.
| 2017 | Josh Hart | Villanova University |
| 2016 | Denzel Valentine | Michigan State University |
| 2015 | Stanley Johnson | University of Arizona |
Interesting that Alkins is looked at as a small forward by this award committee, and by the NBA as a preferred position-less player that makes him more versatile on the court and more desirable in the NBA Draft.
This year there are two other Pac-12 players listed on the watch list in addition to King Rawle. One is freshman Troy Brown who had Arizona in his top eight. Brown has been touted as a one-and-done player. Right behind him is UCLA Bruin freshman Kris Wilkes, son of legendary Bruin Jamaal Wilks (now Jamaal Abdul-Lateef, nicknamed Silk). Wilks is a prolific three-point shooter and spent the summer working out with his teammates and NBA Players in their practice gym on campus.
Twenty-One Candidates Announced for 2018 @JuliusErving Award. #ErvingAward
— Basketball HOF (@Hoophall) October 18, 2017
📰: https://t.co/RPSRKNcPxB pic.twitter.com/gfypzJLAeL
Another day, another Wildcat makes a national watch list! Rawle Alkins earns a spot on Julius Erving Award preseason list. #BearDown pic.twitter.com/MhcZQbqAJf
— Arizona Basketball (@ArizonaMBB) October 18, 2017
With a spot on the Julius Erving Award Watch List for this season, let’s look at some Rawle Alkins highlights from last season. #BearDown pic.twitter.com/erzOfXCIM1
— Arizona Basketball (@ArizonaMBB) October 18, 2017
King Rawle performs well under pressure. He put on a display against UCLA last season scoring ten points, five rebounds, and one assist in 17 minutes. There is no reason he couldn’t win this award and more this season. In this video, Alkins shows the depths of his game by rebounding, scrambling for possession, dishing assists, scoring layups, drawing fouls, and shooting three’s on the road in a very loud Pauley Pavillion against his rival Bruins.
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I cannot wait for this Wildcat to heal and get back out on the court! Miller is saying that will be early December and Alkins spirits are high, so things must be going well. Great news! Bear Down King Rawle, congrats on the getting on the Erving Award list!