Here's a Complete Tracker of UNC Basketball Players Named to Award Watch Lists

In anticipation of the 2024-25 season, several UNC men’s and women’s basketball players have been named to award watch lists. Check back here throughout the season to see who has been nominated for what!

R.J. Davis – Jerry West Award, Naismith Trophy, NABC Player of the Year

Davis is coming off an outstanding 2023-24 season, one which saw him lead the ACC in scoring at 21.2 points per game and shooting 39.8 percent on three-pointers. Davis scored 30 or more points four times, set new career scoring highs not once (36 points against Wake Forest) but twice (42 against Miami), the latter of which is the all-time scoring record for any player in the history of the Smith Center. Davis is the first Tar Heel to score 40 points since Harrison Barnes in 2011, and the first to do so in a non-overtime game since Tyler Hansbrough in 2008. Davis earned several honors for his accomplishments in 2023-24, including an AP first team All-America nod. He also became the first Tar Heel ever to win the Jerry West Award (given to the nation’s top shooting guard) and became the first Tar Heel to win ACC Player of the Year since 2017.

Now, Davis has been named to the preseason watch list for the Naismith Trophy, given to the national player of the year. The National Association of Basketball Coaches also named Davis to the preseason watch list for its national player of the year award. In addition, Davis has been named to the watch list for the Jerry West Award once again, and is an AP preseason first team All-American.

Elliot Cadeau – Bob Cousy Award

As a true freshman during the 2023-24 season, Cadeau started 33 games for the Tar Heels and averaged 7.2 points and 4.1 assists per game. He logged 10 games with at least six assists, including a 10-assist, zero-turnover performance in a 100-92 win against No. 10 Tennessee in the Smith Center. Now, Cadeau has been named to the preseason watch list for the Bob Cousy Award, given to the nation’s top point guard. Three previous Tar Heels have won the award: Raymond Felton in 2005, Ty Lawson in 2009 and Kendall Marshall in 2012.

Drake Powell – Julius Erving Award

Powell, a true freshman from Pittsboro, arrives in Chapel Hill as a five-star prospect and the No. 11 recruit in his class, according to 247 Sports. Powell has already shown off the tools which have made him a projected first-round pick in the NBA Draft: in an exhibition against Johnson C. Smith, he stuffed the stat sheet with eight points, nine rebounds, four assists, two blocks and a steal. Now, Powell has been named to the watch list for the Julius Erving Award, given to the nation’s top small forward.

Ian Jackson – Julius Erving Award

Another five-star recruit from the 2024 class, Jackson also showed out in Carolina’s exhibition win. The freshman from New York finished with 21 points, including a highlight-reel windmill dunk on a breakaway. Like his teammate Powell, Jackson has been named to the Erving Award watch list.

Cade Tyson – Karl Malone Award

A transfer from Belmont, Tyson started 59 games for the Bruins and averaged 15 points per game, winning the Missouri Valley Freshman of the Year Award in 2023 and earning first team All-MVC honors as a sophomore in 2024. Tyson showcased his shooting efficiency in both seasons, shooting 41.7 percent on three-pointers as a freshman and improving that to a red-hot 46.5 percent as a sophomore. He shot 85.7 percent from the free throw line in those two seasons. Now, Tyson has been named to the preseason watch list for the Karl Malone Award, given to the nation’s top power forward.

Alyssa Ustby – Cheryl Miller Award, Naismith Trophy, Wooden Award

Image via UNC Athletic Communications/Jerome M. Ibrahim

A fifth-year senior, Ustby is coming off a standout 2023-24 season. The versatile forward averaged 12.5 points and a team-high 9.5 rebounds per game. She also recorded the first-ever triple-double in the history of the UNC women’s basketball program with a 16-point, 16-rebound and 10-assist outing against No. 25 Syracuse. She was named second team All-ACC and has been named to the ACC’s preseason first team this year. Ustby has also been named to the watch list for the Cheryl Miller Award, given to the nation’s top small forward, and the Naismith Trophy. The Wooden Award, another national player of the year award, named Ustby to its preseason Top 50 watch list.

Maria Gakdeng – Lisa Leslie Award

Image via UNC Athletic Communications/Greg Fiume

In her first season in Chapel Hill after transferring from Boston College, Gakdeng made 32 starts and averaged 9.2 points per game on 62.6 percent shooting. The six-foot, three-inch center also blocked a team-high 51 shots. Now, Gakdeng has been named to the preseason watch list for the Lisa Leslie Award, given to the nation’s top center.

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