Josh Hart returns to reigning champion Villanova as one of the nation's top small forwards.
Part three of Hoophall Awards' five preseason positional watch lists was released Wednesday in the form of the Julius Erving Award, presented to the top small forward at the end of the season.
MORE: Bob Cousy Award watch list for top point guard | Jerry West Award — Top SG
Twenty of the most elite small forwards from some of the top teams cracked the list in hopes of claiming the third-ever edition of the award. Below are all the preseason candidates:
| Evan Bradds | Belmont | Senior |
| Kelan Martin | Butler | Junior |
| Jaron Blossomgame | Clemson | RS Senior |
| Terry Larrier | Connecticut | RS Sophomore |
| Jayson Tatum | Duke | Freshman |
| Dwayne Bacon | Florida State | Sophomore |
| OG Anunoby | Indiana | Sophomore |
| Deng Adel | Louisville | Sophomore |
| Justin Jackson | North Carolina | Junior |
| VJ Beachem | Notre Dame | Senior |
| Jae'Sean Tate | Ohio State | Junior |
| Dillon Brooks | Oregon | Junior |
| Tres Tinkle | Oregon State | Sophomore |
| Vince Edwards | Purdue | Junior |
| Dikembe Dixson | UIC | Sophomore |
| Kevin Hervey | UT Arlington | Junior |
| Jalen Moore | Utah State | Senior |
| Josh Hart | Villanova | Senior |
| Markis McDuffie | Wichita State | Sophomore |
| Trevon Bluiett | Xavier | Junior |
Since the Julius Erving Award was first presented in 2015, Michigan State's Denzel Valentine (2016) and Arizona's Stanley Johnson (2015) have taken home the hardware.
