Kispert named Julius Erving Award Finalist

Zags’ junior one of five

candidates for award

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — Gonzaga’s Corey Kispert was named one of five finalists for the 2020 Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year Award Wednesday.

Named after Class of 1993 Hall of Famer and 16-year professional basketball player Julius Erving, the annual honor in its sixth year recognizes the top small forwards in Division I men’s college basketball.

The five finalists for the 2020 Julius Erving Award are Corey Kispert, Jordan Nwora (Louisville), Precious Achiuwa (Memphis), Saddiq Bey (Villanova) and Naji Marshall (Xavier).

Kispert, who was recently named Academic All-WCC for the second straight season, is 11th in the league in points per game (14.26) and ninth in minutes played per game (32.85). He leads the team in free-throw percentage (.818) and three-point made field goals (77). He is shooting 44.3 percent from behind-the-arc.

A national committee of top college basketball personnel determined the watch list of 20 student-athletes in October, which was narrowed to 10 candidates in early February and now just five finalists. This month, the finalists will be presented to Mr. Erving and the Hall of Fame’s selection committee. The winner of the 2020 Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year Award will be determined by a combination of fan votes and input from the Basketball Hall of Fame’s selection committee. Naismith Starting Five Fan Voting presented by Dell Technologies will go live on March 6 via hoophallawards.com.

The winner will be presented at The College Basketball Awards presented by Wendy’s in Los Angeles on April 10, along with the other four members of the Naismith Starting 5. Additional awards being presented and receiving support from Eaton Ephesus Lighting 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.

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

Fortier named semifinalist for

Naismith Coach of the Year

SPOKANE — Gonzaga women’s basketball head coach Lisa Fortier was named a semifinalist for the Werner Ladder Naismith Women’s Coach of the Year Award, as announced Wednesday morning by the Atlanta Tipoff Club.

Fortier is one of 10 coaches in the nation to be named a semifinalist for the award. This season, Fortier has guided the Bulldogs to their best start in program history at 28-2—the 18th 20-win season in program history—along with a program- and conference-best Associated Press Top 25 Poll and USA Today Coaches Poll rankings at No. 11 and No. 10, respectively.

Gonzaga captured its 16th West Coast Conference regular-season title this season with a program- and conference-record tying 17-1 record and is poised for its 11th NCAA tournament appearance in the last 12 seasons. In the second reveal of the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Committee Top-16 reveal on Monday, the Zags were projected to host the First and Second Rounds of the 2020 NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship as a No. 3 seed, which would be the highest seed in program history.