KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Santiago Vescovi of the University of Tennessee men’s basketball team is a member of the Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Preseason Watch List, as announced Tuesday afternoon by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
Named after Class of 1980 Hall of Famer and 1959 NCAA Final Four Most Valuable Player Jerry West, the annual honor, in its 10th year, recognizes the top shooting guard in Division I men’s college basketball. A national committee of top college basketball personnel determined the watch list of 20 candidates.
“Each of the student-athletes nominated for the 2024 Jerry West Award has the same skillset that made Jerry West a household name, and they should be very proud of this accomplishment,” said John L. Doleva, President and CEO of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. “Our committee, alongside Jerry, is honored to watch this exceptional group and work together to narrow down the list as the season progresses.”
Alongside Vescovi, Trey Alexander (Creighton), Stephon Castle (Connecticut), LJ Cryer (Houston), Johnell Davis (Florida Atlantic), Jordan Dingle (St. John’s), Boogie Ellis (USC), Kam Jones (Marquette), Riley Kugel (Florida), Caleb Love (Arizona), Fletcher Loyer (Purdue), Aidan Mahaney (St. Mary’s), Tramon Mark (Arkansas), Kevin McCullar Jr. (Kansas), Justin Moore (Villanova), Antonio Reeves (Kentucky), Jeremy Roach (Duke), Terrence Shannon Jr. (Illinois), Tyson Walker (Michigan State) and Ja’Kobe Walter (Baylor) were also selected. Players can play their way onto and off the list at any point in the 2023-24 season.
A fifth-year guard who hails from Montevideo, Uruguay, Vescovi paced the Volunteers with 12.5 points per game in 2022-23, while adding 4.6 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.8 steals per outing. He claimed First Team All-SEC accolades for the second consecutive season, while helping the Volunteers go 25-11 (11-7 SEC) and earn a final ranking of No. 20/16 after advancing to the Sweet 16.
Fans are encouraged to participate in Fan Voting, presented by Dell Technologies, in each of the three rounds starting on Oct. 27. In late January, the watch list will be narrowed to 10 and then, in late February, to just five. In March, the five finalists will be presented to West and the Hall of Fame’s selection committee, at which time a winner will be selected.
The winner of the 2024 Jerry 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 Jerry West Award (Shooting Guard), Julius Erving Award (Small Forward), Karl Malone (Power Forward), and the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award (Center), in addition to the Women’s Starting Five
For more information on the 2024 Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award and the latest updates, visit hoophallawards.com, as well as follow @hoophallu and #CousyAward on Twitter and Instagram.