Grimes named to Jerry West Award watch list
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Kansas freshman Quentin Grimes has been named one of 20 candidates for the 2019 Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced Tuesday.
Named after Hall of Famer and 1959 NCAA Final Four Most Valuable Player Jerry West, the annual honor, in its fifth year, recognizes the top shooting guard in Division I men’s college basketball. A national committee comprised of top college basketball personnel determined the watch list of 20 candidates.
Grimes is a five-star combo guard who made his rounds on the all-star game circuit following his senior year at College Park High School in The Woodlands, Texas. Ranked No. 8 in the national recruiting services, he averaged 29.5 points, 8.6 rebounds and 4.9 assists his senior season, earning the 2017-18 Texas Gatorade Player of the Year, Texas Mr. Basketball and the 6A Player of the Year. This past summer, Grimes was the Most Valuable Player and an All-Tournament selection at the 2018 FIBA Americas U18 Championships in leading USA to the gold medal, where he averaged 14.7 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.8 assists. The USA squad was coached by KU head coach Bill Self
By mid-February, the watch list of 20 players for the 2019 Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award will be narrowed down 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 2019 Jerry West Award will be presented at the ESPN College Basketball Awards Show presented by Wendy’s in Los Angeles on Friday, April 12, 2019.
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 Carsen Edwards, Purdue (2018), Malik Monk, Kentucky (2017), Buddy Hield, Oklahoma (2016) and D’Angelo Russell, Ohio State (2015).
For more information on the 2019 Jerry West Award, log onto www.HoophallAwards.com.
2019 Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award Candidates
Bryce Brown, Auburn
Jarron Cumberland, Cincinnati
Kellan Grady, Davidson
RJ Barrett, Duke
KeVaughn Allen, Florida
Zach Norvell, Gonzaga
Justin Wright-Foreman, Hofstra
Romeo Langford, Indiana
QUENTIN GRIMES, KANSAS
Barry Brown, Kansas State
Tyler Herro, Kentucky
Quinndary Weatherspoon, Mississippi State
James Palmer Jr., Nebraska
T.J. Gibbs, Notre Dame
Mustapha Heron, St. John’s
Tyus Battle, Syracuse
Jarrett Culver, Texas Tech
Kyle Guy, Virginia
Jaylen Nowell Washington
Fletcher Magee, Wofford
*Players can play their way onto and off of the list at any point in the 2018-19 season.*
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