Junior guard James Blackmon Jr. was named a finalist Tuesday for the Jerry West Award, given annually to the nation’s best shooting guard.
Blackmon is the leading scorer on the IU men’s basketball team this season and ranks fourth in the Big Ten with an average of 17.6 points per game.
A national committee comprising top college basketball personnel determined the watch list of 20 candidates in October 2016 and has now narrowed its list down to 10 finalists. In addition to Blackmon, Iowa guard and Big Ten-leading scorer Peter Jok and UCLA guard Bryce Alford, son of former IU basketball All-American Steve Alford, are also on the list.
The 10 finalists are:
Jacob Evans — Cincinnati
Marcus Foster — Creighton
Luke Kennard — Duke
Jordan Mathews — Gonzaga
James Blackmkon Jr. — IU
Peter Jok — Iowa
Devonte’ Graham — Kansas
Malik Monk — Kentucky
Steve Vasturia — Notre Dame
Bryce Alford — UCLA
Five finalists will be presented to West and the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame’s selection committee in March, and the winner of the award will be presented at the ESPN College Basketball Awards Show on April 7.
The past two winners of this award, D’Angelo Russell of Ohio State in 2015 and Buddy Hield of Oklahoma 2016 declared for the NBA draft and were top-10 picks the following season. Blackmon has one year of eligibility left at IU after the 2017 season.
