UVA guard Kyle Guy has been named one of the 10 candidates for the 2019 Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced on Tuesday.
Named after Class of 1980 Hall of Famer and 1959 NCAA Final Four Most Valuable Player Jerry West, the annual honor in its fifth year recognizes the top shooting guards in Division I men’s college basketball. A national committee comprising top college basketball personnel determined the watch list of 20 candidates in October, which has now been narrowed to just 10.
Guy is second on the team in scoring (14.5 points per game) and leads the team in 3-point shooting (43.8 percent), free throw accuracy (85.4 percent) and 3-pointers (60). He has a 15-game double figure scoring streak and set a UVA school record with 11 consecutive 3-pointers made over a two-game span earlier this season. He was named ACC Player of the Week on Jan. 7 after averaging 25.5 points and 6.5 rebounds in wins against Marshall and No. 9 Florida State. He has made five or more 3-pointers in 11 games and ranks first at UVA with a 43.2 percent career 3-point percentage.
“The Naismith Starting 5 represents our five positional awards and serves as a tie between the best in the college game today and the Hall of Famers who have paved the way,” said John L. Doleva, President and CEO of the Basketball Hall of Fame. “To be named to the top ten for any positional award is an immense honor and we look forward to the unique insights of Jerry West as a player, coach and executive as we trim this list further next month.”
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 14 seasons in the NBA with the Lakers making the All-NBA First Team 10 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, he was named a member of the NBA’s 50th Anniversary All-Time Team.
In March, five finalists will be presented to Mr. West and the Hall of Fame’s selection committee. The winner of the 2019 Jerry West Award will be presented at The College Basketball Awards presented by Wendy’s in Los Angeles, on Friday, April 12, 2019, along with the other four members of the Naismith Starting 5. Additional awards being presented and sponsored by Eaton Ephesus Lighting include the Bob Cousy Point Guard Award, the Julius Erving Small Forward Award, the Karl Malone Power Forward Award and the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center Award. Broadcast information will be released by ESPN at a later date.
Previous winners of the Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award include Carsen Edwards, Purdue (2018), Malik Monk, Kentucky (2017), Buddy Hield, Oklahoma (2016) and D’Angelo Russell, Ohio State (2015).
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