One day after learning that Kansas point guard Devonte’ Graham had been named to the Bob Cousy Award watch list, Graham’s running mate, Malik Newman, landed on the Jerry West list.
Newman, a transfer from Mississippi State, who sat out last season and is eligible to play this year, is one of 20 shooting guards from throughout the country to land on the Jerry West preseason list.
Named after Hall of Famer and 1959 NCAA Final Four Most Valuable Player Jerry West, the annual honor, in its fourth year, recognizes the top shooting guard in Division I men’s college basketball.
A national committee comprised of top college basketball personnel determined the watch list of 20 candidates, which can be altered at any point during the 2017-18 season.
The list will be trimmed to 10 in February, five in March and a winner will be announced in April during the ESPN College Basketball Awards Show in Los Angeles.
Newman, the Big 12 preseason newcomer of the year, led the Jayhawks in scoring during their four-game exhibition trip to Italy this summer. Before that, he averaged 11.3 points per game while starting 22 of 29 games during his freshman year at Mississippi State.
**2018 Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award Candidates**
Allonzo Trier – Arizona
Mustapha Heron – Auburn
Jerome Robinson – Boston College
TJ Haws – BYU
Marcus Foster – Creighton
Grayson Allen – Duke
KeVaughn Allen – Florida
Rob Gray – Houston
**Malik Newman – Kansas**
Hamidou Diallo – Kentucky
Bruce Brown Jr. – Miami
Lonnie Walker – Miami
Quinndary Weatherspoon – Mississippi St.
E.C. Matthews – Rhode Island
Khadeen Carrington – Seton Hall
Shamorie Ponds – St. John’s
Tyus Battle – Syracuse
Andrew Jones – Texas
De’Anthony Melton – USC
Daxter Miles Jr. – West Virginia
