UF Men’s Basketball: Lewis Named to Jerry West Award Preseason Watch List

Courtesy of University Athletic Association

The sophomore lands on the watch list for the annual award given out to the nation’s top shooting guard.

Sophomore guard Scottie Lewis is one of 20 players in the country named to the 2021 Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award Watch List, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced Tuesday afternoon.

Lewis returns to the Gators for his sophomore campaign after averaging 8.5 points per game and 3.6 rebounds per game in 30 appearances a season ago. The 2019-20 SEC All-Freshman team honoree posted 10 double-digit scoring games in his first collegiate season, while becoming the first guard ever to lead the Gators in blocked shots with 36. He also led the team in free throw percentage (.817) after making 25 in a row, the longest streak by a Gator in two years.

The Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award is an annual honor given to the top shooting guard in Division I men’s college basketball. Voting will consist of three rounds, with the first beginning on Friday, Nov. 6. Each cycle, a fan vote will give the top-10 players selected an additional vote.

The list will be narrowed down to 10 in mid-February, with five finalists ultimately being selected in March.

The winner of the 2021 Jerry West Award will be presented on Friday, April 9, 2021, along with the other four members of the Men’s Starting Five. Additional awards being presented include the Bob Cousy Point Guard Award, the Julius Erving Small Forward Award, the Karl Malone Power Forward Award, and the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center Award, in addition to the Women’s Starting Five.