House and Hogg Named to National Watch Lists

A pair of Aggies garnered national recognition Tuesday as senior Danuel House was named to the watch list for the 2016 Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award and freshman D.J. Hogg (pronounced HOEG [rhymes with rogue]) received a spot on the Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year Award watch list.

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – A pair of Aggies garnered national recognition Tuesday as senior Danuel House was named to the watch list for the 2016 Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award and freshman D.J. Hogg (pronounced HOEG [rhymes with rogue]) received a spot on the Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year Award watch list.

Named after Hall of Famer and 1959 NCAA Final Four Most Valuable Player Jerry West, the Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award is in its second year and recognizes the top shooting guard in Division I men's college basketball.

Meanwhile, the Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year Award presented by University of Massachusetts is also in its second year. Named after Hall of Famer and 11-time NBA All-Star Julius Erving, the honor recognizes the top small forward in Division I men's college basketball.

A national committee comprised of top college basketball personnel determined the watch list of 20 candidates for each award.

House emerged as one of the SEC's most explosive and consistent scorers during his first season at Texas A&M, garnering first team All-SEC honors last year after ranking fourth among all league players in scoring during conference games at 16.2 points per game. During SEC play, the 6-foot-7 guard ranked second in the league, averaging 2.7 3-pointers made per game and third in 3-point shooting at 41.1 percent

In all games, the Fresno, Texas, native led the Aggies and ranked ninth in the SEC by scoring 14.8 points per contest while shooting 41.7 percent from the floor and 40.0 percent from 3-point range. Additionally, House scored 20 or more points in seven games last season, including three outings with 25 or more points.

Hogg, a rookie from Plano, Texas, is entering his first season in the Aggie program after a standout prep career at Plano West High School. A highly-regarded prospect, Hogg was a consensus four-star recruit and rated as the No. 2 player in the state of Texas by 247 Sports as well as the sixth-best shooting guard prospect by ESPN.

The 6-foot-8 forward was honored as Texas Association of Basketball Coaches First Team All-State following his senior season, during which he averaged 17.6 points and 5.3 rebounds while guiding the Wolves to the 2015 Texas Class 6A State Championship. Hogg etched his name in Texas high school basketball history during Plano West's championship-clinching victory over Clear Lake by putting together a 22-point performance that was punctuated by the game-winning 3-pointer in the game's final seconds.

By mid-February, the watch list of 20 players for both the 2016 Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award and Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year Award will be narrowed to just 10. In March, five finalists will be presented to each awards' respective selection committee.

The winners of the 2016 Jerry West Award and Julius Erving Award will be presented at the ESPN College Basketball Awards Show live from Club Nokia in Los Angeles, Calif., on April 8, 2016. Broadcast information will be released at a later date.

For more information on the Jerry West Award and Julius Erving Award, log onto www.HoophallAwards.com.

2016 Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award Candidates
Allonzo Trier, Arizona
Anthony Drmic, Boise State
Kellen Dunham, Butler
Jordan Matthews, California
Grayson Allen, Duke
Dwayne Bacon, Florida State
Marvell Harris, Fresno State
James Blackmon, Indiana
AJ English, Iona
Antonio Blakeney, Louisiana State
Rasheed Sulaimon, Maryland
Sheldon McClellan, Miami
Caris Levert, Michigan
Malik Newman, Mississippi State
Buddy Hield, Oklahoma
E.C. Matthews, Rhode Island
Danuel House, Texas A&M
Melvin Johnson, Virginia Commonwealth
Malcom Brogdon, Virginia
Ron Baker, Wichita State

2016 Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year Award Candidates
Jaylen Brown, California
Daniel Hamilton, Connecticut
Rodney Purvis, Connecticut
Brandon Ingram, Duke
John Brown, High Point
Troy Williams, Indiana
Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk, Kansas
Wayne Seldon, Kansas
Alex Poythress, Kentucky
Damion Lee, Louisville
Ben Simmons, Louisiana State
Jake Layman, Maryland
Denzel Valentine, Michigan State
Justin Jackson, North Carolina
DeAndre Bembry, Saint Joseph's
Malik Pope, San Diego State
Michael Gbinije, Syracuse
D.J. Hogg, Texas A&M
Brandon Taylor, Utah
Nigel Hayes, Wisconsin

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This season Texas A&M will play a marquee non-conference schedule that, for the first time in program history, features a trio of teams from a power-5 conference as Kansas State (Dec. 12), Baylor (Dec. 19) and Iowa State (Jan. 30) all make visits to Aggieland during non-league play.

During SEC play, Texas A&M features an impressive home conference slate and will host some of the league's top squads inside Reed Arena with Arkansas, Florida, LSU, Missouri, South Carolina, Ole Miss, Kentucky, Mississippi State and Vanderbilt all making trips to the Lone Star State.