Aaron Henry Named to Erving Award Top Ten List

East Lansing, Mich. – Michigan State's men's basketball junior forward Aaron Henry (Indianapolis, Ind./Ben Davis) was selected as one of the Top 10 candidates for the 2021 Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year Award.

Named after Class of 1993 Hall of Famer and 16-year professional basketball player Julius Erving, the annual honor in its seventh year recognizes the top small forwards in Division I men's college basketball. A national committee of college basketball personnel determined the watch list of 20 candidates in November, which has now been narrowed to 10.

Henry leads Michigan State with 13.9 points and 3.7 assists per game, is second on the team with 5.6 rebounds per game and adds 1.6 blocks and 1.6 steals in a team-leading 29.7 minutes per game. Henry is one of only three players in Division I averaging at least 13.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.5 blocks per game.

In 81 career games with 61 starts, Henry has averaged 8.7 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.4 assists.

Julius Erving attended the University of Massachusetts and averaged 26.3 points and 20.2 rebounds per game, making him one of only six NCAA men's basketball players to average more than 20 points and 20 rebounds per game. After two seasons, Erving made the jump to the American Basketball Association and was the league's most recognizable player when it merged with the National Basketball Association in 1976. During his professional career, Erving won three championships, four most valuable player awards and three scoring titles. In 1996, he was named a member of the NBA's 50th Anniversary All-Time Team.

In late February, five finalists will be presented to Mr. Erving and the Hall of Fame's selection committee. The winner of the 2021 Julius Erving Award will be presented April 9, 2021, along with the other four members of the Men's Starting Five. Additional awards being presented include the Bob Cousy Point Guard Award, the Jerry West Shooting Guard Award, the Karl Malone Power Forward Award and the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center Award, in addition to the Women's Starting Five. College basketball fans can support their favorite players by participating in Fan Voting presented by Dell.

Previous winners of the Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year Award include Saddiq Bey, Villanova (2020), Rui Hachimura, Gonzaga (2019), Mikal Bridges, Villanova (2018), Josh Hart, Villanova (2017), Denzel Valentine, Michigan State (2016) and Stanley Johnson, Arizona (2015).

Players Mentioned

Aaron Henry

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