Jaime Jaquez Jr. Named Naismith Player of the Year Semifinalist
The Pac-12 Player of the Year could add another award to his name in the near future.
The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame revealed its semifinalists for the Naismith Men's College Player of the Year Award on Friday, and UCLA men's basketball guard/forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. was one of the 10 players selected for the honor.
Purdue center Zach Edey, Indiana guard Trayce Jackson-Davis, Kansas State forward Keyontae Johnson, Marquette guard Tyler Kolek, Alabama forward Brandon Miller, Houston guard Marcus Sasser, Gonzaga forward Drew Timme, Arizona forward Azuolas Tubelis and Kansas forward Jalen Wilson were the other nine players selected as semifinalists.
On Wednesday, Jaquez was named a Julius Erving Award finalist which honors the top small forward in the nation. Gonzaga forward Julian Strawther, Johnson, Miller and Wilson were also named Erving Award finalists.
No UCLA player has won the Erving Award since it was introduced in the 2014-2015 season.
The Camarillo, California, native is leading UCLA with 17.4 points and 8.0 rebounds per game, and he ranks second on the team with 2.4 assists, 1.5 steals and 0.6 blocks per game. Jaquez is averaging career highs in every major count stat, in addition to shooting a career-best 48.7% from the field.
Jaquez has appeared in all 32 of the Bruins games so far this season and scored double figures in 28, leading the team to a 28-4 record, a Pac-12 regular season title and 10 consecutive top-10 rankings in the process.
The 6-foot-6 wing is towards the top of the Pac-12 leaderboards in several categories, ranking No. 4 in points per game, No. 5 in rebounds per game, No. 4 in steals per game, No. 3 in player efficiency rating, No. 1 in win shares, No. 2 in offensive win shares, No. 2 in defensive win shares and No. 2 in win shares per 40 minutes.
In Bart Torvik's updated analytics-based national player of the year rankings, Jaquez is at No. 9. Just since the start of conference play, however, Jaquez ranks No. 5. Either way, Jaquez leads the five Erving Award finalists in the metric.
The Erving Award winner will be announced on a date to be determined, but it is expected to be in early April.
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