Bruce Branch III made the 20-player preseason watch list for the 2027 Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year Award on Wednesday. That is the headline. The better BYU story is the number that did not build Branch’s recruiting reputation: 13 assists in two exhibitions.
Branch scored 29 points against Nebraska and UNLV. He also created 13 baskets for teammates, grabbed 10 rebounds and changed roles when his shot stopped falling. His official two-game averages are 14.5 points, 6.5 assists and 5.0 rebounds on 44.4% shooting.
The 30% mark from 3-point range is less glamorous. It may be more useful right now. Branch reached the watch list without needing two clean shooting nights to look like a major part of BYU’s offense.
Preseason lists do not decide awards. The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame says players can move onto or off this one throughout the season. Branch has not played a regular-season college minute, and the exhibitions do not count in BYU’s record.
They still showed why his case can become more than a recruiting-rank echo. Branch has already given Kevin Young a 6-foot-8 wing who can score, pass over traffic and keep an offense moving after a miss. The Erving list recognizes the profile. Ohio State will test the substance Monday night.
The watch list is a starting line, not a trophy
The Hall of Fame’s official list includes 20 small forwards. Branch is one of three Big 12 players, joining Arizona sophomore Ivan Kharchenkov and Kansas freshman Tyran Stokes. Ohio State freshman Anthony Thompson is also on it, which puts two candidates in the same Delta Center opener.
The award will not shrink to 10 players until February. Five finalists are scheduled to be selected in March, followed by a vote from the Hall of Fame’s selection committee. Fan voting opens Oct. 30, but the Hall also makes an important point in the fine print: the list can change during the season.
That is the proper weight for Wednesday’s news. Branch has entered the conversation. He has not banked months of production.
The standard is also sitting close to home. AJ Dybantsa won the 2026 Erving Award after leading the country with 25.5 points per game. Branch is now trying to give BYU consecutive winners, but copying Dybantsa is neither realistic nor necessary.
Dybantsa carried a scoring burden. Branch has entered a roster with Robert Wright III, Collin Chandler and Jaxon Kohler already able to finish possessions. BYU does not need Branch to own every possession. It needs him to make those players harder to guard.
The first two exhibitions suggest that is already happening.
Thirteen assists changed the evaluation
Branch arrived with a familiar five-star scouting file. Sports Illustrated’s preseason report described a smooth shooter with length, defensive mobility and room to improve as a self-creator. His 39% shooting on the 2025 Adidas 3SSB circuit supported the off-ball case. A reported 7-foot-1 wingspan supported the defensive one.
The exhibition numbers added a different skill.
| Exhibition | Points | Rebounds | Assists | What carried |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nebraska | 15 | 6 | 5 | Three made 3-pointers and the late answer |
| UNLV | 14 | 4 | 8 | Second-half creation after a 1-for-9 start |
| Total | 29 | 10 | 13 | Production survived two different game shapes |
Against Nebraska, Branch made six of nine shots and three of five from deep. He supplied 15 points, six rebounds and five assists. Nebraska’s official account also records the possession that stopped its last serious push: after the Huskers cut BYU’s lead to 65-61, Branch hit a 3-pointer with 1:35 left. BYU scored the final seven points.
That was the easy version to understand. The jumper worked, the line filled up and Branch helped close.
UNLV asked for something harder. Branch missed eight of his first nine shots and all four first-half 3-pointers. BYU trailed by one at halftime after spending much of the half chasing a larger deficit. A freshman carrying a national reputation could have treated the second half as a personal shooting correction.
Branch changed the job instead.
He scored 12 points and handed out six assists after halftime. Two assists became alley-oops to Khadim Mboup. He found Kohler inside, reached his own pull-up and floater, and finished with eight assists in 30 minutes. The official box score credited him with no turnovers.
That last combination is the preseason development worth carrying forward: eight assists, zero turnovers and an 18-shot afternoon that began badly. Branch kept attacking without turning every touch into a rescue attempt.
Our UNLV film-and-box-score review focused on that second-half adjustment because it changed BYU’s shape. Wright did not have to organize every possession. Chandler could finish advantages instead of creating all of them. Mboup received simple scoring chances near the rim. Branch’s passing made the other four players more useful.
Thirteen assists across two exhibitions do not prove he is a college point forward. They do force opponents to prepare for more than a catch-and-shoot wing.
The shooting percentage leaves useful work
Branch’s 44.4% overall shooting is healthy. His 30% mark from deep is not alarming over two exhibitions, but it is a reminder that the reputation and the college result are still separate things.
The Nebraska game showed the clean version: three makes on five attempts. UNLV showed the mess: zero makes on five attempts. That adds up to 3 for 10.
Ten attempts are far too few to establish a true percentage. They are enough to reject the easy story that Branch reached the watch list because his jumper has already translated without friction.
His more convincing early case is that the offense did not lose him when the jumper disappeared. Branch found points inside the arc and assists around it. That is how a young shooter stays valuable during the inevitable 1-for-6 nights.
There is still a balance to find. Branch took 18 shots at UNLV. His passing made that volume productive, but BYU will not always want a freshman wing using that many attempts while Wright, Chandler and Kohler share the floor. Shot selection will matter more when the opponent can punish empty trips.
The preseason roster-floor analysis argued that Wright gave BYU a stable organizer while the rest of the lineup learned its jobs. Branch’s 13 assists offer a better possibility. Wright may be the primary organizer without being the only one.
That difference can keep BYU’s offense from becoming predictable late in a possession. It can also let Young use Branch’s size against smaller guards without asking him to dribble through an entire defense.
Ohio State puts another watch-list freshman on the other side
BYU opens the regular season against Ohio State at the Delta Center on Monday, Nov. 2. Tip is scheduled for 7 p.m. Mountain on FS1. The men’s basketball schedule has the full season path.
Ohio State brings Thompson, another five-star freshman on the Erving list. The early public evidence around him is different. Buckeyes Wire reports that Thompson played 15 minutes and scored five points on 2-for-5 shooting in Ohio State’s 82-73 exhibition win over Butler.
That is not a verdict on Thompson. It is a reminder that watch-list freshmen can enter November with very different jobs. Branch has already handled 30 minutes and 18 shots in one exhibition. Thompson was used more sparingly in Ohio State’s last public tune-up.
The opener is not an Erving Award elimination game. It is the first counted chance to see which parts of the preseason survive regular-season pressure.
For Branch, the questions are specific:
- Can he create clean looks without turning the ball over when Ohio State prepares for him?
- Can he make enough open 3-pointers to keep defenders attached?
- Can his length help BYU finish defensive possessions with rebounds?
- Can he remain useful when Wright or Chandler owns the ball?
Those questions matter more than whether he outscores Thompson. BYU’s lineup already has several scorers. Branch can make a larger difference by connecting them and defending across positions.
BYU should measure the whole possession
Award campaigns tend to flatten players into points per game. Branch’s first two public college appearances argue against doing that too soon.
He has scored enough. The 29 points belong in the file. So do the 13 assists, 10 rebounds, one ugly shooting half and the decision to stop forcing the wrong solution.
His high school background explains why the Hall of Fame knew his name. Branch was a McDonald’s All-American, the No. 6 player in the SCNext 100 and a USA Basketball silver medalist at the 2026 FIBA U18 AmeriCup. BYU’s official roster says he averaged 8.6 points and 8.6 rebounds for the United States. The body of work is real.
College will ask for a new one.
The strongest early sign is not that Branch has looked like the next Dybantsa. He has not, and BYU should not ask him to. It is that he has already found a useful role when the star-wing script stopped cooperating.
If the jumper returns while the passing stays, Branch will have a real Erving Award case. If the jumper comes and goes, those 13 assists show how he can still help BYU win.
That is better than a preseason label. It is a job the Cougars can use Monday.
Sources and further reading
- Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame: 2027 Julius Erving Award watch list for the official 20-player field, selection timeline, fan-voting date and list-change policy.
- BYU Athletics: Branch named to the watch list for his two-game averages, Nebraska and UNLV lines, USA Basketball background and BYU award context.
- BYU Athletics: 89-77 UNLV recap for the second-half sequence, Branch’s six assists after halftime and the Ohio State opener.
- Nebraska Athletics: 72-61 exhibition account for opponent-side confirmation of Branch’s late 3-pointer and the final seven-point close.
- Sports Illustrated: Branch scouting report for independent preseason analysis of his shooting, creation, rebounding and defensive profile.
- Arizona Athletics: Erving watch-list release for independent confirmation of the 2027 candidate field.
- Buckeyes Wire: Ohio State-Butler exhibition for Thompson’s reported 15-minute, five-point final tune-up.
- BYU Sport Nuts: UNLV analysis, preseason roster-floor analysis and men’s basketball hub.
