Colorado Buffaloes sophomore Jabari Walker continues to rack up the preseason honors.
On Wednesday, Walker was recognized as one of 20 athletes on the 2022 Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year Award preseason watchlist.
The award is in its eighth year and is awarded to the top small forward in Division I college basketball. The list will be cut down to 10 in January, then five in late February before a winner is announced at the end of the season.
This comes after Walker was named as an honorable mention on the preseason All-Pac-12 teams and could be on more preseason watch lists as they get announced in the coming weeks.
The 6-foot-8 forward is going into 2021-22 with high expectations on his shoulders.
“The expectations we have is that he becomes an everyday guy,” head coach Tad Boyle said. “And last year he didn’t have to do that because we had so many seniors with Jeriah Horne, D’Shawn Schwartz, McKinley Wright and Dallas Walton. He was able to be that freshman that came in and gave us a spark off the bench and he was really good at that.”
As a true freshman, Walker averaged 7.6 points and 4.3 rebounds coming off the bench last season earning him Pac-12 All-Freshman First Team honors. His freshman year was highlighted by a 24 point performance in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
[lawrence-related id=1360,1349,1323]
“You look at Jabari’s numbers last year relative to the minutes he played and he was very efficient,” Boyle said. “He had impacted the game when he was in there but he got in foul troublesome. He was a catch-and-shoot guy. Now we’re challenging him to be more of a well-rounded player and impact the game in different ways other than just shooting the ball from the perimeter.”
The California native has gotten plenty of attention in the offseason. He was left off the United States U19 World Cup team after joining them for camp, making the cut from 27 to 17 but ultimately was left off of the final 12-man roster.
He has also found his way on many 2022 NBA Draft prospects boards.
Here is Jabari Walker of the Colorado Buffs knocking down a three in their open scrimmage. I’m expecting a big year from Walker this upcoming season. He is currently #40 on our 2022 NBA Draft Big Board. @basketbllnews pic.twitter.com/VnDc2x5txi
— Matt Babcock (@MattBabcock11) October 16, 2021
Walker showed plenty of flashes of brilliance. The question is, can he become that player day-in and day-out for the Buffs?
“We need Jabari to be an everyday guy and consistency is going to be his biggest challenge going from a freshman to a sophomore and going from a role player to a guy that we’re counting on night in and night out to produce and perform,” Boyle said. “He’s fully capable of it, without a doubt.”
[vertical-gallery id=1261]