🏀 Ochai Agbaji Named Jerry West Shooting Guard Award Top-10 Candidate
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Kansas junior Ochai Agbaji has been named a top-10 candidate for the Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced Tuesday.
Agbaji ranks second in the Big 12 Conference in 3-point field goal percentage at 43.2%, which is 32nd nationally, and 3-point field goals made at 2.73 per game. The Kansas City, Missouri, guard leads KU in scoring at 14.5 points per contest, which is ninth in the conference. He is second on the team with 30 assists.
Named after Class of 1980 Hall of Famer and 1959 NCAA Final Four Most Valuable Player Jerry West, the annual honor is in its seventh year and recognizes the top shooting guards in Division I men’s college basketball. A national committee of college basketball personnel determined the watch list of 20 candidates in November, which has now been narrowed to 10.
In late February, five finalists will be presented to Mr. West and the Hall of Fame’s selection committee. The winner of the 2021 Jerry West Award will be presented April 9, 2021, along with the other four members of the Men’s Starting Five. Additional awards being presented 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. College basketball fans can support their favorite players by participating in fan voting starting Jan. 29. For more information on fan voting, the 2021 Jerry West Award and the latest updates, log onto www.hoophallawards.com.
2021 Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award Candidates*
Terry Taylor – Austin Peay
MaCio Teague – Baylor
James Bouknight – Connecticut
Joel Ayayi – Gonzaga
Joe Wieskamp – Iowa
OCHAI AGBAJI – KANSAS
Cameron Thomas – LSU
Franz Wagner – Michigan
Chris Duarte – Oregon
Jordan Goodwin – Saint Louis
*Players can play their way onto and off of the list at any point in the 2020-21 season*
