Monk Tabbed Finalist for 2017 Jerry West Award

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Kentucky men’s basketball freshman guard Malik Monk is one of five finalists for the 2017 Jerry West Award. Named after Hall of Fame shooting guard and 1959 NCAA Final Four Most Valuable Player Jerry West, the annual award recognizes the top shooting guard in Division I men’s basketball.  

Monk’s competition includes Marcus Foster (Creighton), Luke Kennard (Duke), Peter Jok (Iowa) and Bryce Alford (UCLA). 

A national committee comprised of top college basketball personnel determined the initial watch list of 20 candidates in October, trimmed it down to 10 in February and now has cut it to five finalists. The annual honor, which is now in its third season, will be presented to the winner at the ESPN College Basketball Awards Show in Los Angeles on April 7.

The winner of the West Award will be determined by a combination of fan votes and input from the Basketball Hall of Fame’s selection committee. Fans are encouraged to visit HoophallAwards.com to cast their votes March 10-24.

Previous winners of the award were Buddy Hield of Oklahoma (2016) and D’Angelo Russell of Ohio State (2015). 

It’s been an incredibly busy – but more importantly rewarding – awards season for Monk after a sensational regular season. His U.S. Basketball Writers Association District IV Player of the Year distinction and All-Southeastern Conference Freshman of the Year award are the latest honors, but he’s also racked up numerous All-America selections.

His awards so far include:

About Monk: Monk electrified crowds with his prolific scoring outbursts and high-flying violent dunks throughout the regular season. He averaged 21.2 points per game, leading South Carolina’s Sindarius Thornwell by .001 of a point for the league’s scoring title heading into the postseason. Monk is seeking to become just the fourth freshman in the history of the SEC to win the scoring title. 

 

He is ranked among the top 20 nationally in scoring and second among all freshmen. No John Calipari-coached player has ever averaged more than 21.2 points for an entire season (Dajuan Wagner at Memphis in 2002). He’s scored in double figures in all but one game this season and has 17 games of 20 points or more, including a Kentucky freshman record 47 points vs. North Carolina in December.

 

The freshman from Lepanto, Arkansas, is the only freshman in program history with four 30-point games, and six times this season he has scored at least 20 points in a half.

Monk is averaging 2.97 made 3-pointers per game. If he maintains that average, and UK plays a full 40-game schedule, he would finish the season with 119 3-pointers. That total would break Jodie Meeks’ school record and be just behind the NCAA freshman record of 122 held by Steph Curry.