SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Redshirt junior guard Elijah Brown has been named as one of 20 finalists for the 2017 Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award Preseason Watch List, as announced by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Tuesday.
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 basketball. Brown is the only finalist from the Mountain West and was named the Mountain West Preseason Player of the Year last week.
In his first season with the Lobos in 2015-16, Brown led New Mexico in scoring with 21.7 points per game, the highest average for a Lobo since 2002-03. His 694 points tied Cameron Bairstow for fourth all time in a season. He was one of the nation’s leading free throw shooters, draining 217 of 255 attempts for an 85 percent free throw mark. He also led the team with 35 steals and ranks second with 100 assists.
By mid-February, the watch list of 20 players for the award will be narrowed down to 10. In March, five finalists will be presented to West and the Hall of Fame’s selection committee.
The winner of the 2017 Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year award will be presented at the ESPN College Basketball Awards Show in Los Angeles, Calif. on April 7. Broadcast information will be released at a later date.
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 | Louisiana State University |
| Donovan Mitchell | Louisville |
| Eron Harris | Michigan St. |
| Elijah Brown | New Mexico |
| Tyler Dorsey | Oregon |
| E.C. Matthews | Rhode Island |
| Shake Milton | Southern Methodist University |
| Isaac Hamilton | University of California, Los Angeles |