KU junior Ochai Agbaji lands on Jerry West Award watch list

By Matt Tait Nov 3, 2020

Nick Krug

Kansas guard Ochai Agbaji (30) moves in to the bucket against Oklahoma State guard Jonathan Laurent (1) during the first half on Monday, Feb. 24, 2020 at Allen Fieldhouse.

Make it two watch lists in two days for the Kansas men’s basketball program, which learned on Tuesday that junior guard Ochai Agbaji had been added to the Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award watch list.

Agbaji joins senior point guard Marcus Garrett — named Monday to the Bob Cousy Award watch list — in earning preseason recognition. He was one of 20 players added to the Jerry West watch list this week.

An honorable mention all-Big 12 selection last season, when he averaged 10 points and 4.2 rebounds per game, Agbaji ranked second with 46 3-point makes and third on the team in steals with 38.

The 6-foot-5 sophomore from Kansas City, Mo., has started 47 of the 51 games he has played in at KU, including all 31 games last season during KU’s run to a 28-3 record and the likely No. 1 overall seed in the canceled NCAA Tournament.

Named after Class of 1980 Hall of Famer and 1959 NCAA Final Four Most Valuable Player, Jerry West, the annual honor, now in its seventh year, recognizes the top shooting guards in Division I men’s college basketball.

College basketball fans are encouraged to participate in the fan voting portion of the award in each of the three rounds. In late January, the 20-man watch list will be narrowed to 10. And in late February, that group will be pared down to five finalists, with the winner being presented with the award on April 9, 2021.

2021 Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award Candidates

John Petty Jr. (Alabama)

Terry Taylor (Austin Peay)

MaCio Teague (Baylor)

Matt Bradley (California)

James Bouknight (Connecticut)

Mitch Ballock (Creighton)

Kellan Grady (Davidson)

Antoine Davis (Detroit Mercy)

DJ Steward (Duke)

Scottie Lewis (Florida)

MJ Walker (Florida State)

Joel Ayayi (Gonzaga)

Caleb Mills (Houston)

Joe Wieskamp (Iowa)

Ochai Agbaji (Kansas)

Terrence Clarke (Kentucky)

Franz Wagner (Michigan)

Jordan Goodwin (Saint Louis)

Justin Moore (Villanova)

Paul Scruggs (Xavier)

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Written By Matt Tait

A native of Colorado, Matt moved to Lawrence in 1988 and has been in town ever since. He graduated from Lawrence High in 1996 and the University of Kansas in 2000 with a degree in Journalism. After covering KU sports for the University Daily Kansan and Rivals.com, Matt joined the World Company (and later Ogden Publications) in 2001 and has held several positions with the paper and KUsports.com in the past 20+ years. He became the Journal-World Sports Editor in 2018. Throughout his career, Matt has won several local and national awards from both the Associated Press Sports Editors and the Kansas Press Association. In 2021, he was named the Kansas Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. Matt lives in Lawrence with his wife, Allison, and two daughters, Kate and Molly. When he's not covering KU sports, he likes to spend his time playing basketball and golf, listening to and writing music and traveling the world with friends and family.