2023 Bevo Francis Top 100 Watch List
KANSAS CITY, Mo.– West Texas A&M senior
Julius Brown was named to the Top 100 Watch List for the 2022-2023 Bevo Francis Award presented to the top player in Small College Basketball, awarded by SmallCollegeBasketball.com. The honor is awarded to a deserving player whose university is affiliated within NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III, NAIA Division I, NAIA Division II, USCAA and NCCAA.
Brown ranks fifth in the Lone Star Conference in scoring at 16.1 points per game. He has scored in double figures in all but one game this season including 22 points against then No. 1 Northwest Missouri State and 30 against previously No. 7 Missouri-St. Louis. When not scoring, Brown is WT's leader in total assists with 46. The senior guard ranks eighth in the LSC with 3.3 per game.
For his career, the Westerville, Ohio native has appeared in 47 games with 47 starts having scored 754 points with 157 assists, 159 rebounds and 79 steals. Brown was named a Division II Conference Commissioner's Association All-American in 2022 along with a D2CCA All-Tournament team member, Lone Star Conference Tournament Most Valuable Player, LSC First Team All-Conference, LSC Newcomer of the Year, and LSC All-Defensive Team.
The Buffs return to action on Thursday, Jan. 19, when they take on Dallas Baptist at the Burg Center. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
About the Bevo Francis Award
The Clarence "Bevo" Francis Award is presented annually to the player who has had the finest overall season within Small College Basketball. Considerations will be season statistics and individual achievements, awards, personal character, and team achievements. This is an incredibly prestigious award, as this award will only be given to one player within Small College Basketball per season.
2023 marks the seventh year of the Bevo Francis Award. Past winners include Dominez Burnett of Davenport University in 2016, Justin Pitts of Northwest Missouri State University in 2017, Emanuel Terry of Lincoln Memorial University in 2018, Aston Francis of Wheaton College in 2019, Kyle Mangas of Indiana Wesleyan University in 2020, and Trevor Hudgins of Northwest Missouri State University in 2022. The award was not presented during the 2021 season.
On February 15th, the list will be reduced to the Top 50 players. One month later on March 15th, the Top 25 players will be announced. On April 1st, the finalists of this year's award will be announced, followed by the Bevo Francis Award winner being crowned on April 3rd.
