Jones 1 of 5 Finalists for Jerry West Award

FAYETTEVILLE – Arkansas junior Mason Jones has been named 1-of-5 finalists for the 2020 Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced today.

Joining Jones are Kamar Baldwin (Butler), Ty-Shon Alexander (Creighton), Anthony Edwards (Georgia) and Myles Powell (Seton Hall). Jones, also 1 of 30 on the Citizen Naismith Player of the Year Award list, was not on the previous Jerry West watch lists but played his way onto the finalists’ list. He leads the SEC in scoring (21.3 ppg) and is the only player in the SEC to rank among the league’s top 20 in scoring (1st), rebounding (19th), assists (11th) and steals (7th).

“It is an immense honor to be a finalist for the Jerry West Award and I’m certain these student athletes are proud and inspired to finish their body of work for this season,” said John L. Doleva, President and CEO of the Basketball Hall of Fame. “We are honored to have Jerry West’s unique insights from a player, coach, and executive standpoint as we evaluate our finalists down the stretch this season.”

A national committee of top college basketball personnel determined the watch list of 20 student-athletes in October, which was narrowed to 10 candidates in early February including Razorback sophomore Isaiah Joe. This month, the finalists will be presented to Mr. West and the Hall of Fame’s selection committee. The winner of the 2020 Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award will be determined by a combination of fan votes and input from the Basketball Hall of Fame’s selection committee. Naismith Starting Five Fan Voting presented by Dell Technologies will go live on Friday (March 6) via hoophallawards.com.

“It has been a privilege to help evaluate this year’s talent alongside the Hall of Fame and the committee members,” said Jerry West, Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 1980. “The level of play this year has been tremendous. As these athletes continue competing in their most critical games, I look forward to watching them finish the season at their best.”

The winner of the 2020 Jerry West Award will be presented at The College Basketball Awards presented by Wendy’s in Los Angeles, Calif., on Friday, April 10, along with the other four members of the Naismith Starting Five. Additional awards being presented and sponsored by Eaton Ephesus Lighting 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. Additional information about the telecast will be released by ESPN in the coming weeks.

MASON JONES HISTORIC SEASON HIGHLIGHTS:

• Leads the SEC in scoring (21.3 ppg). Looking to become the first Razorbacks to lead the SEC in scoring. (NOTE: Four Razorbacks – Georgie Kok in 1948, Martin Terry in 1973, Darrell Walker in 1983 and Joe Kleine in 1985 led the Southwest Conference in scoring.)
• Leads the NCAA in both free throws made (207) and free throws attempted (250).
• Named SEC Player of the Week four times. Only two others in league history have been a four-time SEC Player of the Week in the same season, Jodie Meeks (UK in 2008-09) and Shan Foster (VU in 2007-08).
• Is the only player in the SEC to rank among the league’s top 20 in scoring (1st), rebounding (19th) assists (11th) and steals (7th). Jones also ranks among the SEC top 10 in FG% (9th), FG made (6th), FT% (6th), 3-pointers made (9th) and defensive rebounds (9th).
• Is the only player in the SEC to lead his team in points, rebounds, assists and steals. Also, is the only player in the SEC to lead his team in rebounds and assists as well as being 1 of 3 players in the SEC to lead his team in scoring and rebounding.
• Has scored at least 40 points twice this season and joins Jodie Meeks (UK • 3) and Shaquille O’Neal (LSU • 2) as only players in SEC over the last 30 years with at least two 40-point games in a season.
• Has scored at least 30 points on seven occasions this season. That is the fourth-best total in the NCAA this year and Jones is the first SEC player to have seven in one season since Jodie Meeks and LSU’s Marcus Thornton accomplished the feat in 2008-09.
• Became just the eighth Razorback to score his 1,000th point in the first two years with the program. He was the fifth-fastest to do so and now ranks 38th on the school’s all-time scoring list (1,058).
• Has shattered the school record for most free throws made in SEC games, now with 130. The previous mark was 109 by Corliss Williamson.
• Is only five free throws made from the school record for most in a season overall. Jones has 207 and the record is 212 set by Sidney Moncrief in 1978-79.
• Has scored 358 points in SEC games this season, second on the school’s all-time list behind Todd Day’s 368 in 1991-92.
• Is the only Razorback to make at least 10 field goals and 10 free throws in an SEC game, a feat he has accomplished twice (versus Auburn and this past week versus Tennessee).
• Is the third player in Arkansas history to make 300+ free throws and 125+ three-pointers in a career (has 322 FT and 130 3PT). The others were Todd Day and Jonathon Modica. It took Day three seasons to get there and Modica four seasons.
• Jones scored 104 points over three straight games this season, 1 of 5 such occurrences by SEC players over the last 20 seasons. The list includes Jodie Meeks 107 Pts (2009), Mason Jones 104 Pts (2020), Jodie Meeks 103 Pts (2009), Breein Tyree 101 Pts (2020) and Marcus Thornton 101 Pts (2008).

For more information on Arkansas Men’s Basketball, follow @RazorbackMBB on Twitter.