LaDontae Henton a Finalist for the Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year Award
PC news release…
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – It was announced on Monday, March 9 that Providence College senior forward LaDontae Henton (Lansing, Mich.) was named one of five finalists for the 2015 Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year Award. The Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year Award is named after Hall of Famer and 11-time NBA All-Star Julius Erving. The annual honor, in its inaugural year, recognizes the top small forwards in Division I men’s college basketball. A national committee comprised of top college basketball personnel determined the watch list of 15 candidates which has been narrowed down to a list of five.
Henton, who was named First Team All-BIG EAST on March 8, leads the league in scoring in overall action (20.1 ppg) and he led in conference play (20.1 ppg.). He is the sixth Friar all-time to lead the league in scoring and the third Friar in the last five years to accomplish the feat. The senior forward also leads the league in minutes played at 36.8 and he is tied for seventh in rebounding (6.3 rpg.). Henton scored 21 or more points in 17 of the 31 games this season.
His two highest point totals this season were 38 points versus Notre Dame on November 23 and 35 points against Creighton on December 31. Henton’s 622 points scored this season ranks 14th-best all-time. On Wednesday, he became just the second Friar ever to score more than 2,000 points and grab 1,000 rebounds in a career. He ranks fourth all time in scoring (2,012 points) and seventh all-time in rebounding (1,026 rebounds). This season, Henton established Providence career records for games played (132), starts (131) and minutes played (4,792).
The Friars finished the regular season with a 21-10 mark overall and an 11-7 record in BIG EAST play. Providence earned the fourth seed in the BIG EAST Tournament and will play No. 5 seed St. John’s on Thursday, March 12 at 2:30 p.m. at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The game will be televised on Fox Sports 1.
By early March, the current list of 15 finalists for the 2015 Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year Award will be narrowed down to five players. The final five players in contention for the award will be presented to Mr. Erving and the Hall of Fame’s selection committee. The winner of the 2015 Julius Erving Award will be presented at ESPN’s new College Basketball Awards presented by Wendy’s from Club Nokia in Los Angeles, CA on Friday, April 10, 2015. The Awards will be televised live on ESPN2 at 8:00pm EST.
