Virginia grad senior Sam Hauser was named among the top 10 candidates for the Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year Award today.
As with the Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year Award, the list can still change between now and the end of the season. We noted that when Kihei Clark was left off the watch list when it narrowed from 20 to 10 earlier this week.
So, this news today is really just an excuse to write about Virginia basketball as we wait for the weekend.
But, hey, Hauser – he’s good, averaging a team-high 15.0 points and 7.4 rebounds per game, shooting 51.0 percent from the field and 43.2 percent from three.
Sports-Reference.com ranks him 10th in the ACC in offensive rating (121.1), 19th in defensive rating (97.0), fifth in win shares (2.3), fourth in box plus/minus (10.0).
It’s fair to say that the favorite here is Gonzaga’s Corey Kispert (20.6 ppg, 4.9 rebs/g, 58.2% FG, 49.0% 3FG), who ranks second nationally in offensive rating (148.8), third in win shares (3.5) and seventh in box plus/minus (13.5).
What Hauser has going for him is recency. In ACC play, he’s averaging 16.9 points and 8.7 rebounds per game, shooting 51.1 percent from the field and 46.8 percent from three – with an ORtg of 121.8 and a DRtg of 93.3.
See there – his D is getting better.
Story by Chris Graham
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