Florida State University Athletics
Seminoles’ Vassell Named To Julius Erving Award Finalist List
2/5/2020 1:01:14 PM | Men's Basketball
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (Seminoles.com) – Florida State sophomore Devin Vassell, the leading scorer for the No. 8 ranked Florida State Men’s Basketball team, has been selected as one of 10 finalists for the Julius Erving Award presented by the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. This honor recognizes the top small forward in men’s college basketball.
With each game Vassell takes advantage of the opportunity to make a difference in the Florida State program. He leads the team in scoring (13.5 ppg), rebounds (5.3 rpg) and blocked shots (1.1 bpg) and is one of three players in the ACC who leads his team in all three categories.
The Seminoles are 19-3 overall with a 9-2 record in ACC play. The Seminoles are tied for second place in the ACC standings and play host to Miami on Saturday at the Donald L. Tucker Center.
Vassell enters Saturday’s game against Miami ranked fourth in the ACC in field goal percentage (.502) and ranked in the top 15 in the ACC in blocked shots (1.1 bpg) and steals (1.5 spg). Against Virginia Tech, he led the Seminoles to the victory scoring a career-high 27 points and tying an ACC mark by shooting seven for seven from 3-point range.
“We are successful as a team, we win as a team and all of the players on our team make each other better each day we come to practice and play games,” said Vassell. “I have always believed that any individual recognition a player receives is because of the support system around him – in my case it’s Coach Hamilton and his entire coaching staff, my teammates and our support staff. We achieve success because we are a close-knit team of brothers.”
Named after Class of 1993 Hall of Famer and 16-year professional basketball player Julius Erving, the award in its sixth year recognizes the top small forwards in Division I men’s college basketball.
The list of 10 finalists for the Julius Erving Award list will be narrowed down to five finalists in March. The recipient of this award will be presented at the ESPN College Basketball Awards Show live from The Novo by Microsoft in Los Angeles, CA on Friday, April 10th.
New to this year’s program is the Fan Voting presented by Dell Technologies. Starting on Friday, February 7, fans will have the opportunity to vote for their favorite players. The top vive player selections on the fan vote will get an additional vote towards making the next round.
Previous winners of the Julius Erving Award include Rui Hachimura of Gonzaga (2019), Mikal Bridges of Villanova (2018), Josh Hart of Villanova (2017), Denzel Valentine of Michigan State (2016) and Stanley Johnson of Arizona (2015).
2020 Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year Candidates
Devin Vassell, Florida State
Derrick Alston Jr., Boise State
Corey Kispert, Gonzaga
Jordan Nwora, Louisville
Precious Achiuwa, Memphis
Tres Tinkle, Oregon State
Elijah Hughes, Syracuse
Anthony Lamb, Vermont
Saddiq Bey, Villanova
Naji Marshall, Xavier