SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Gonzaga's Corey Kispert was named the Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced Saturday.
 
Named after Class of 1993 Hall of Famer and 16-year professional basketball player Julius Erving, the annual honor in its seventh year recognizes the top small forwards in Division I men's college basketball.
 
The five finalists for the 2021 Julius Erving Award were Kispert, Isaiah Livers (Michigan), Ron Harper Jr. (Rutgers), Terrence Shannon, Jr. (Texas Tech) and Sam Hauser (Virginia).
 
Kispert, the West Coast Conference Player of the Year, was also a Wooden and Naismith Player of the Year finalist. He was named First Team All-American by the Associated Press, NABC and USBWA. He is second in the West Coast Conference in scoring at 18.9 points per game. He is shooting a phenomenal 53.5 percent from the field, which is also second in the conference. The senior is first in the league making 2.93 three-pointers per game at a WCC-best 45.3 percentage, which is fifth in the nation. He is fifth in the conference shooting 62.4 percent inside-the-arc.
 
Kispert is first in the WCC with a 90.1 free-throw percentage. He has scored in double-digits in all but one game this season, reaching 20 points 12 times. The Edmonds, Wash., native, boasts a 125-10 career record in games he's appeared in. He has the highest winning percentage in Div. 1 over the last 25 years for at least 100 appearances. He's scored 1,536 points in career, and is fourth in GU history with 266 three-pointers. Kispert also received First Team All-WCC honors for the second straight season.
 
Kispert's former teammate, Rui Hachimura, received the honor in 2019. Other previous winners of the Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year Award include Saddiq Bey, Villanova (2020), Mikal Bridges, Villanova (2018), Josh Hart, Villanova (2017), Denzel Valentine, Michigan State (2016) and Stanley Johnson, Arizona (2015).