Basketball Hall of Fame to Announce Top Five Shooting Guards in Early March
SPRINGFIELD, MASS. – The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced today the ten watch list finalists for the 2016 Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award. Named after Hall of Famer and 1959 NCAA Final Four Most Valuable Player Jerry West, the annual honor in its second year recognizes the top shooting guards in Division I men’s college basketball. A national committee comprised of top college basketball personnel determined the watch list of 20 candidates in October, which has now been narrowed to just ten.
“Jerry West is a basketball icon,” said John L. Doleva, President and CEO of the Basketball Hall of Fame. “As one of the best jump shooters to play the game, Jerry West’s drive for perfection is what set him apart. It’s that type of drive that will be required to take home this award in this year’s highly competitive field.”
Jerry West attended West Virginia University and averaged 24.8 points and 13.3 rebounds per game in his three varsity seasons. He led his team to the NCAA Championship game in 1959 and was named a consensus All-American in 1959 and 1960. In the summer of 1960, he was co-captain of the U.S. men’s basketball team and won an Olympic gold medal. As a professional player, West played fourteen seasons in the NBA with the Lakers making the All-NBA First Team ten times. West won an NBA championship in 1972 and was named the NBA Finals MVP in 1969 despite his team not winning the championship. In 1996, West was named a member of the NBA’s 50th Anniversary All-Time Team and in 1979 he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
In March, five finalists will be presented to Mr. West and the Hall of Fame’s selection committee for the 2016 Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award. The winner of the 2016 Jerry West Award will be presented at the ESPN College Basketball Awards Show live from Club Nokia in Los Angeles, CA on Friday, April 8, 2016. Broadcast information will be released at a later date.
Last season, D’Angelo Russell of Ohio State was named the inaugural winner of the 2016 Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award. For more information on the 2016 Jerry West Award, log onto www.HoophallAwards.com.
2016 Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award Finalists
Grayson Allen, Duke
Malcolm Hill, Illinois
A.J. English, Iona
Sheldon McClellan, Miami
Caris LeVert, Michigan
Buddy Hield, Oklahoma
Julian Jacobs, University of Southern California
Jalen Jones, Texas A&M
Josh Hart, Villanova
Malcolm Brogdon, Virginia
*Players can play their way onto and off of the list at any point in the 2015-16 season*
About the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame: Located in Springfield, Massachusetts, the city where basketball was invented, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame promotes and preserves the game of basketball at every level – professional, collegiate and high school, for both men and women on the global stage.
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