Frazier Named to West Award Watch List
October 15, 2019 | Men's Basketball
Illini junior one of 20 candidates for award honoring nation's top shooting guard
The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced Tuesday the 20 watch list candidates for the 2020 Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award. Named after Class of 1980 Hall of Famer and 1959 NCAA Final Four Most Valuable Player Jerry West, the annual honor in its sixth year recognizes the top shooting guards in Division I men's college basketball.
A national committee of top college basketball personnel determined the watch list of 20 candidates, highlighted by Fighting Illini junior Trent Frazier.
TRENT FRAZIER | 2018-19 SEASON HIGHLIGHTS
- Honorable Mention All-Big Ten (media)
- Second on Illini in scoring at 13.7 ppg
- Scored in double figures 22 times, with five performances of 20 or more points
- Finished 43rd in the NCAA in 3-point accuracy, shooting 40.6 percent (80-197)
- Total of 80 treys ranked ninth on Illini all-time single-season list
- Third in B1G in made threes per game (2.5 avg)
- Fourth in B1G in steals with 1.4 spg
- Second on team in assists at 2.6 apg
2020 Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award Candidates*
Isaiah Joe, Arkansas
Kamar Baldwin, Butler
Jarron Cumberland, Cincinnati
Ty-Shon Alexander, Creighton
Kellan Grady, Davidson
Antoine Davis, Detroit Mercy
Anthony Edwards, Georgia
Trent Frazier, Illinois
Joe Wieskamp, Iowa
Tyrese Maxey, Kentucky
Skylar Mays, LSU
Joshua Langford, Michigan State
Temple 'T.J.' Gibbs, Notre Dame
Breein Tyree, Ole Miss
Myles Powell, Seton Hall
A.J. Lawson, South Carolina
Mustapha Heron, St. John's
Desmond Bane, TCU
Jordan Bowden, Tennessee
Sam Merrill, Utah State
*Players can play their way onto and off of the list at any point in the 2019-20 season*
"The Hall of Fame is proud to create connections between modern day athletes and fans with the iconic figures in our game, such as Jerry West," said John L. Doleva, President and CEO of the Basketball Hall of Fame. "It is an honor to have his continued involvement in the Starting Five and we look forward integrating the fan voting component and we narrow the watch list this season."
This is the second straight watch list honor for an Illini. on Monday, sophomore Ayo Dosunmu was named to the 20-player preseason list for the Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year Award.
New to the award this season is Fan Voting presented by Dell Technologies in each of the three rounds. By mid-February, the watch list of 20 players for the 2020 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 2020 Jerry West Award will be presented at The College Basketball Awards presented by Wendy's in Los Angeles, CA on Friday, April 10, 2020, along with the other four members of the Men's Starting Five.
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.
Previous winners of the Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award include RJ Barrett, Duke (2019), Carsen Edwards, Purdue (2018), Malik Monk, Kentucky (2017), Buddy Hield, Oklahoma (2016) and D'Angelo Russell, Ohio State (2015).
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, in addition to the Women's Starting Five. Broadcast information will be released by ESPN at a later date.
For more information on the 2020 Jerry West Award and the latest updates, log onto hoophallawards.com and follow @hoophall on Twitter and Instagram. Starting Five Fan Voting presented by Dell Technologies will go live on Friday, October 18.
