SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — William & Mary men’s basketball senior Marcus Thornton was named one of 16 finalists for the inaugural Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced Thursday.
Named after Hall of Famer and 1959 NCAA Final Four Most Valuable Player Jerry West, the annual honor in its inaugural year recognizes the top shooting guards in Division I men’s college basketball. A national committee composed of top college basketball personnel determined the watch list of 16 candidates.
Joining Thornton on the list of finalists for the award are Tyler Haws (BYU), Tyler Harvey (Eastern Washington), James Blackmon Jr. (Indiana), Sheldon McClellan (Miami), Rashad Vaughn (UNLV), Trevor Lacey (N.C. State), Jerian Grant (Notre Dame), D’Angelo Russell (Ohio State), Buddy Hield (Oklahoma), Joseph Young (Oregon), D’Angelo Harrison (St. John’s), Chasson Randle (Stanford), Malcolm Brogdon (Virginia), Ron Baker (Wichita State) and E.C. Matthews (Rhode Island).
By early March, the current list of 16 finalists for the 2015 Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award will be narrowed down to five players. The final five players in contention for the award will be presented to Mr. West and the Hall of Fame’s selection committee. The winner of the 2015 Jerry West Award will be presented at the new ESPN College Basketball Awards Show live from Club Nokia in Los Angeles, CA on Friday, April 10, 2015.
“As one of the best jump shooters to play the game, Jerry West’s drive for perfection is what set him apart,” said John L. Doleva, President and CEO of the Basketball Hall of Fame. “He is a basketball icon and we are delighted to be awarding this honor in his name.”
Thornton became just the third player in W&M history and the 12th in CAA lore to score 2,000 career points, reaching the milestone with 17 points at Northeastern on Wednesday night. He is second in Tribe history and 11th all-time in CAA annals in scoring at 2,016 points. Thornton is only 37 points away from the oldest Division I school scoring record in the country held Chet Giermak (2,052 points), who graduated in 1950.
Each of the last three years Thornton has averaged nearly 19 points per game, and he currently ranks 24th nationally, as of Feb. 17, at 19.1 per contest. Since the start of Division I in 1948, Thornton is one of just 257 players to score 2,000 points in his career. Dating back to last season, he has scored in double figures in a CAA-best 32 straight games and has done it in 103 of his 120 career games at W&M.
Already the best 3-point shooter in W&M history, Thornton reached the 300 mark for career 3-pointers against the Huskies on Wednesday. His 300 triples rank sixth all-time in CAA history and are fourth among active Division I players.
Thornton is averaging 2.9 3-pointers per game this season, which ranks 24th nationally, while his 3-point percentage of 41.8 percent is 30th in the country. The Tribe guard is one of just four players nationally, according to the NCAA minimum standards, with shooting percentage of at least 45 from the field, 40 from 3 and 80 from the free throw line.
The CAA Preseason Player of the Year, Thornton was one of just 24 players in the country be named to both the Preseason and Midseason Watch List for the Lou Henson Award, given annually by CollegeInsider.com to the top Mid-Major player in the country. He is a two-time First-Team NABC All-District pick and became just the third W&M player to earn First-Team All-CAA honors last season.
Jerry West attended the West Virginia University and averaged 24.8 points and 13.3 rebounds per game in his three varsity seasons. He led his team to the NCAA Championship game in 1959 and was named a consensus All-American in 1959 and 1960.
In the summer of 1960, he was co-captain of the U.S. men’s basketball team and won an Olympic gold medal. As a professional player, West played 14 seasons in the NBA with the Lakers making the All-NBA First Team ten times. West won an NBA championship in 1972 and was named the NBA Finals MVP in 1969 despite his team not winning the championship. In 1996, he was named a member of the NBA’s 50th Anniversary All-Time Team.
“I’m honored to be associated with this award” said Jerry West, a 1979 inductee of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. “The sixteen shooting guards on this list have worked extremely hard to get to this point and it’s nice to see the Basketball Hall of Fame recognize them for their efforts.”
For more information on the 2015 Jerry West Award, log onto www.HoophallAwards.com.
Thornton and the Tribe will play their final road game of the regular season on Sunday at Hofstra. The contest is slated for a 4:30 p.m. tip and will be televised nationally on the NBC Sports Network.
Tribe fans can listen to the broadcast on the Tribe Radio Network with Jay Colley on the call. The Tide 92.3 FM and 107.9 Bach FM are the flagship stations of the Tribe Radio Network and the audio can be heard online at TribeAthletics.com.
