Gonzaga forward Rui Hachimura among 20 candidates for Julius Erving Award

For the third consecutive day, Gonzaga is represented on a national award watch list.

Junior forward Rui Hachimura is the latest, joining 19 others on the watch list for the Julius Erving Award, presented annually to the top small forward in college basketball. Josh Perkins (Bob Cousy Award, top point guard) and Zach Norvell Jr. (Jerry West Award, top shooting guard) were named to watch lists earlier this week.

Hachimura earned first-team All-West Coast Conference honors last season by averaging 11.6 points, including a team-high 12.9 points in conference games, and 4.7 rebounds. He started just two games and averaged 20.9 minutes, sixth highest on the team.

The 6-foot-8 forward from Japan was fourth in the WCC, shooting 56.8 percent from the field, and made nearly 80 percent of his free throws. He scored in double figures 23 times, with a career-high 25 points and four blocks in an NCAA Tournament win over Ohio State.

Gonzaga opponents with Erving watch list candidates include Tennessee’s Admiral Schofield and North Carolina’s Nassir Little.

WSU’s Robert Franks Jr. is one of five Pac-12 players on the watch list, joined by Oregon State’s Tres Tinkle, Oregon’s Louis King, Washington’s Matisse Thybulle and UCLA’s Kris Wilkes.