SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Cincinnati sophomore Jacob Evans and SMU sophomore Shake Milton were named two of 20 watch list members for the 2017 Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award, the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame announced Tuesday.
As the Basketball Hall of Fame unveils its preseason watch lists, the duo joins UConn’s Jalen Adams on the hall’s lists. Adams was named to the Bob Cousy Award watch list on Monday.
Evans averaged 8.4 points in 24.4 minutes as a freshman for the Bearcats last season, shooting 37.2 percent (94 of 253) from the field, 33.3 percent (45 of 135) from three-point range and 80.4 percent (45 of 56) from the free throw line.
Evans finished second on the team in scoring during two postseason games a year ago for Cincinnati, averaging 15.0 points while shooting 42.3 percent (11 of 26) from the field. He scored the most points in an NCAA Tournament game by a UC freshman, netting 26 points with five threes against Saint Joseph’s on Mar. 18, 2016.
In his freshman season, Milton averaged 10.5 points per game for SMU, becoming a unanimous pick to the American Athletic Conference All-Rookie Team.
Milton was among The American leaders in both field-goal percentage, connecting on 47.7 percent of his attempts and 42.6 percent of his three-point field goals, ranking 13
th and third, respectively. As a rising sophomore, Milton played on a Global Sports Academy team and took part in the Nike Hoops Summit in Los Angeles.
Named after Hall of Famer and 1959 NCAA Final Four Most Valuable Player Jerry West, the annual honor in its third 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.
“Now in its third year, this award’s watch list has included a tremendous pool of athletes and all the nominees should be very proud,” said Jerry West, a 1979 inductee of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. “It is truly an honor to be associated with this award and I’m looking forward to a great season of competition as we narrow our list of candidates.”
By mid-February, the watch list of 20 players for the 2017 Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award will be narrowed to just 10. In March, five finalists will be presented to Mr. West and the Hall of Fame’s selection committee. The winner of the 2017 Jerry West Award will be presented at the ESPN College Basketball Awards Show in Los Angeles, California, on Friday, Apr. 7, 2017. Broadcast information will be released at a later date.
Previous winners of the Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award include Buddy Hield, Oklahoma (2016) and D’Angelo Russell, Ohio State (2015). For more information on the 2017 Jerry West Award, log onto
www.HoophallAwards.com.
2017 JERRY WEST SHOOTING GUARD OF THE YEAR AWARD CANDIDATES
Allonzo Trier, Arizona
Dusty Hannahs, Arkansas
Nick Emery, Brigham Young University
Jacob Evans, Cincinnati
Charles Cook, Dayton
Grayson Allen, Duke
Jordan Matthews, Gonzaga
Malcolm Hill, Illinois
James Blackmon Jr., Indiana
Peter Jok, Iowa
Devonte' Graham, Kansas
Malik Monk, Kentucky
Antonio Blakeney, LSU
Donovan Mitchell, Louisville
Eron Harris, Michigan State
Elijah Brown, New Mexico
Tyler Dorsey, Oregon
E.C. Matthews, Rhode Island
Shake Milton, SMU
Isaac Hamilton, UCLA
*Players can play their way onto and off of the list at any point in the 2016-17 season.