BRISTOL, Conn. – For the third time since the award was initiated in 2014-15, a Villanova Wildcat has been named the nation's top small forward by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Sophomore Saddiq Bey is the 2020 Julius Erving Award winner.
 
The announcement, including all five positional winners as part of The Naismith Starting Five, was made earlier today on ESPN's SportsCenter.
 
Josh Hart (2017) and Mikal Bridges (2018) were the previous Wildcats to have been recognized with this elite honor.
 
"As a sophomore, Saddiq Bey was an all-around competitor delivering buckets and consistency when Villanova needed it most," stated Julius Erving, a 1993 inductee in the Basketball Hall of Fame. "To come into a well-established program and find your place as an underclassman is no easy task, and it's clear Saddiq earned the respect of his teammates and competition. I'm proud to honor Saddiq with the 2020 Julius Erving Award."
 
The 6-8 Bey (Largo, Md./Sidwell Friends School) was a unanimous first team All-BIG EAST Selection while averaging 16.1 points per game for the Wildcats, who earned a share of the BIG EAST regular season title while posting a 24-7 overall record in 2019-20. His 3-point shooting mark of .451 was fourth best in the nation.
 
"We're all proud of Saddiq for winning the Julius Erving Award," said Villanova head coach Jay Wright. "We couldn't be happier for him – he's a genuinely good person. Saddiq represents Julius' skill, creativity and versatility at the small forward position. Most of all, Saddiq represents Julius' class on and off the court that garners the ultimate respect from his teammates."
 
"This is an honor," added Bey. "To see the past players who have won this award and to know that it's named after one of the all-time greats, Julius Erving, is humbling. It's a blessing, to be sure. Without my teammates and coaches, something like this would not have been possible. This is for my team and I'm just happy to be a part of the brotherhood we share."
 
The remaining members of the 2020 Naismith Starting Five are: Bob Cousy Award winner Payton Pritchard (Oregon); Jerry West Award winner Myles Powell (Seton Hall); Karl Malone Award winner Obi Toppin (Dayton) and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award recipient Luka Garza (Iowa).
 
The 2019-20 Villanova Basketball season – the 100^th in program history – is presented by Hartford Funds and Coca-Cola.