The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced on Tuesday the 10 finalists for the 2020 Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award, which includes University of Iowa sophomore Joe Wieskamp.

 Wieskamp is the second Hawkeye in four years to be a finalist for the Jerry West Award (Peter Jok, 2017).

Named after 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 men's college basketball. Fans can vote for their favorite player starting Friday, Feb. 7, at hoophallawards.com.

Wieskamp (6-foot-6, 210 pounds) ranks second on the team in scoring (15.1 ppg) and rebounding (6.2 rpg). He has drained 26 3-pointers during Big Ten play to lead the conference and is averaging 17.8 points in 11 Big Ten games, which ranks fourth best. The native of Muscatine, Iowa, has scored in double figures 13 straight games and has improved his scoring average by 4.4 points since Dec. 9. Wieskamp is second in the Big Ten in free throw percentage (.840; 63-of-75) and sixth in 3-point accuracy (.385; 45-of-117). Wieskamp, who was named to the Preseason All-Big Ten Team, has posted three double-doubles this season.

In March, five finalists will be presented to Mr. West and the Hall of Fame's selection committee for the 2020 Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award.  The winner of the Jerry West Award will be presented at the College Basketball Awards Show in Los Angeles on April 10.


Luka Garza is on the newly revised Wooden Award Watch List.  The list has been reduced from 25 to 20 names.  Garza is one of only 3 Juniors on the list.  Here is the full list (credit Kendall Baker from Azios):

  • 7 seniors: Markus Howard, G (Marquette); Myles Powell, G (Seton Hall); Cassius Winston, G (Michigan State); Payton Pritchard, G (Oregon); Udoka Azubuike, C (Kansas); Anthony Cowan Jr., G (Maryland); Lamar Stevens, F (Penn State)
  • 3 juniors: Luka Garza, C (Iowa); Jordan Nwora, F (Louisville); Malachi Flynn, G (San Diego State)
  • 8 sophomores: Obi Toppin, F (Dayton); Saddiq Bey, F (Villanova); Jared Butler, G (Baylor); Devon Dotson, G (Kansas); Tre Jones, G (Duke); Daniel Oturu, C (Minnesota); Filip Petrusev, F (Gonzaga); Jalen Smith, F (Maryland)
  • 2 freshmen: Anthony Edwards, G (Georgia); Vernon Carey Jr., C (Duke)

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