🏀 Kevin McCullar Jr. Named Finalist for Jerry West Award
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Kansas guard Kevin McCullar Jr. has been named one of five finalists for the Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award, the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame announced today.
The annual Jerry West Award, named after the Class of 1980 Hall of Famer and 1959 NCAA Final Four Most Valuable Player, celebrates its 10th year by highlighting the top shooting guards in Division I men’s college basketball.
Joining McCullar as finalists are RJ Davis (North Carolina), Caleb Love (Arizona), Antonio Reeves (Kentucky) and Tyson Walker (Michigan State).
On nearly every midseason All-America and national player of the year watch lists, McCullar leads the Big 12 in scoring at 19.0 points per game. The San Antonio guard’s two triple-doubles are the third most in the NCAA. McCullar is second on the KU team with 37 three-point field goals made. His 6.4 rebounds per game are second on the team and he ranks in 11 Big 12 statistical categories.
A two-time national Naismith Defensive Player of the Year semifinalist and three time All-Big 12 selection, for his career McCullar has scored 1,498 points with 742 rebounds, 335 assists and 214 steals. He has 106 starts in his 136 games played, including 57 starts in 58 contests in his two seasons at Kansas.
Fans can support their favorite player by participating in Fan Voting, presented by Dell Technologies, starting Friday, March 8, on hoophallawards.com. The Fan Vote will count as one committee vote during the finalist selection process.
Later this month, the finalists will be presented to West and the Hall of Fame’s selection committees. The Selection Committee for the Jerry West Award are composed of top men’s basketball personnel, including media members, head coaches, sports information directors, and Hall of Famers.
The winner of the 2024 West Award will be presented on a to-be-determined date, along with the other four members of the Men’s Starting Five. Additional awards being presented include the Bob Cousy Award (Point Guard), Julius Erving Award (Small Forward), Karl Malone Award (Power Forward) and the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award (Center). In 2017 Kansas’ Frank Mason III won the Bob Cousy Award and in 2023 KU’s Jalen Wilson won the Julius Erving Award.
Previous winners of the Jerry West Award are Marcus Sasser, Houston (2023), Johnny Davis, Wisconsin (2022), Chris Duarte, Oregon (2021), Myles Powell, Seton Hall (2020), RJ Barrett, Duke (2019), Carsen Edwards, Purdue (2018), Malik Monk, Kentucky (2017), Buddy Hield, Oklahoma (2016), and D’Angelo Russell, Ohio State (2015).
For more information on the 2024 Jerry West Award and the latest updates, visit hoophallawards.com and follow @hoophall and #WestAward on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram.
