Gophers junior forward Jamison Battle was named Wednesday to the Julius Erving Award preseason top 20 watch list.
Gophers' Jamison Battle named to Julius Erving Award preseason top 20 watch list
The Gophers' leading scorer returning is a candidate for the top small forward in college basketball award.
The 6-7 former DeLaSalle standout led the Gophers in scoring (17.5 points per game), rebounding (6.3) and three-pointers (75) last season after transferring from George Washington.
Battle had 27 double figure scoring games and recorded 20 or more points 11 times last season, including a career-high 39 points at Maryland. He finished eighth in the Big Ten in scoring to earn honorable mention all-conference honors in 2021-22.
Battle's scoring average is third highest among returning players in the Big Ten, trailing only Michigan's Hunter Dickinson and Indiana's Trayce Jackson-Davis.
Also on the preseason watch for the Erving Award given to the top small forward in college basketball is former Lakeville North star Tyler Wahl, who is the top returning scorer for Wisconsin.
Junior Mara Braun rebroke the same bone in her foot as last season, so the 6-0 Gophers will be without their leading scorer and top overall player.