SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — Creightons Ty-Shon Alexander was announced today by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as one of five finalists on the watch list for the 2020 Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award. Named after Class of 1980 Hall of Famer and 1959 NCAA Final Four Most Valuable Player Jerry West, the annual honor in its sixth year recognizes the top shooting guards in Division I mens college basketball.
This year marks the third time in the last four years that Creighton has had a finalist for the Jerry West Award, joining Marcus Foster in 2017 and 2018.
Alexander is one of three BIG EAST representatives among the finalists, as hes joined by Kamar Baldwin (Butler) and Myles Powell (Seton Hall). Joining Alexander, Baldwin and Powell are Mason Jones (Arkansas) and Anthony Edwards (Georgia).
A junior from Charlotte, N.C., Alexander leads Creighton in scoring (16.9) and steals (1.3) per game while also averaging 5.1 rebounds per contest. He tops the Bluejays with three double-doubles and is shooting 86.7 percent from the foul line and 39.8 percent from downtown.
“It is an immense honor to be a finalist for the Jerry West Award and Im certain these student athletes are proud and inspired to finish their body of work for this season,” said John L. Doleva, President and CEO of the Basketball Hall of Fame. “We are honored to have Jerry Wests unique insights from a player, coach, and executive standpoint as we evaluate our finalists down the stretch this season.”
A national committee of top college basketball personnel determined the watch list of 20 student-athletes in October, which was narrowed to 10 candidates in early February and now just five finalists. This month, the finalists will be presented to Mr. West and the Hall of Fames selection committee. The winner of the 2020 Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award will be determined by a combination of fan votes and input from the Basketball Hall of Fames selection committee. Naismith Starting Five Fan Voting presented by Dell Technologies will go live on Friday, March 6 via hoophallawards.com.
“It has been a privilege to help evaluate this years talent alongside the Hall of Fame and the committee members,” said Jerry West, Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 1980. “The level of play this year has been tremendous. As these athletes continue competing in their most critical games, I look forward to watching them finish the season at their best.”
The winner of the 2020 Jerry West Award will be presented at The College Basketball Awards presented by Wendys in Los Angeles, CA on Friday, April 10, 2020, along with the other four members of the Naismith Starting Five. Additional awards being presented and sponsored by Eaton Ephesus Lighting 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 Womens Starting Five.
