The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame has announced the 20 players on the watch list for the 2018 Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year Award, and Great Valley High School graduate Mikal Bridges, a redshirt junior at Villanova, is one of them.

Named after Erving, the Hall of Famer nicknamed Dr. J who led the Philadelphia 76ers to their last NBA title (in 1983), the annual award is in its fourth year and recognizes the top small forwards in Division I men’s college basketball.

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The 6-foot-7 Bridges, who was instrumental as a freshman reserve on Villanova’s 2016 national-championship team, is coming off a sophomore season in which he averaged 9.8 points and 4.6 rebounds per game.

Most NBA mock drafts project Bridges as a first-round pick after this season.

“With his combination of domination on the court and tremendous scoring ability, Julius Erving forged the way for future small forwards in the game of basketball,” said John L. Doleva, President and CEO of the Basketball Hall of Fame. “The Basketball Hall of Fame recognizes the 20 young men on this award watch list as showing similar dedication and skill as Dr. J, and we cannot wait to see how they contribute to their teams’ success this season.”

“It is an honor to be associated with this award and follow the exceptional athletes that are on this watch list,” said Erving. “These student-athletes truly represent the best in the college game, and I am eager to see what they will achieve in the 2017-18 season and beyond.”