Terrence Clarke named to Jerry West Award watch list

Kentucky Wildcats freshman guard Terrence Clarke has made the 2021 Jerry West Award watch list. The award is presented annually to the nation’s best shooting guard by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

Clarke, one of 20 players on the list and one of only two freshmen on it, was ranked as high as No. 8 in the final Rivals rankings in the Class of 2020 and one of the top shooting guards in the country. He was named to the Sports Illustrated All-American Third Team, earned Naismith All-American honorable mention and was selected to the McDonald’s All American Game, the Jordan Brand Classic and the Allen Iverson Roundball Classic.

The 6-7 guard was a member of the Brewster Academy team that won the 2019 National Prep Championship. Clarke led his team back to the 2020 finals with a 34-3 record before the COVID-19 pandemic canceled the rest of the event. For his efforts, Clarke was named to the New England Preparatory School Athletic Council AAA Player of the Year and was a NEPSAC AAA First Team selection.

During his prep career, he averaged 16.2 points per game to go along with 5.1 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game in the 2019 Nike Elite Youth Basketball League.

Named after Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer Jerry West, this year’s award will be presented at the ESPN College Basketball Awards Show in April. Former Wildcats star Malik Monk won the award in 2017 and is the only Wildcat to ever win it.

By mid-February, the watch list will be trimmed to 10 players. Five finalists will be revealed in late February with the winner being announced during the annual ESPN College Basketball Awards show on April 9. Fan voting will be a part of all three rounds of voting before a winner is announced.

2021 JERRY WEST AWARD WATCH LIST

• 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