SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Auburn senior Bryce Brown has been tabbed to the 2019 Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award Watch List, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced Tuesday.
Named after Class of 1980 Hall of Famer and 1959 NCAA Final Four Most Valuable Player Jerry West, the annual honor in its fifth year recognizes the top shooting guards in Division I men's college basketball.
Brown is one of just 20 candidates on the preseason watch list, including one of only four from the Southeastern Conference, joining KeVaughn Allen of Florida, Tyler Herro of Kentucky and Quinndary Weatherspoon of Mississippi State.
The Stone Mountain, Ga. native made his presence felt nationally last season after earning a spot on the Naismith Trophy Top 30 list - awarded to the best player in college basketball. He was also selected First Team All-SEC by the Association Press and Second Team All-SEC by the conference coaches.
Brown more than doubled his scoring output from his sophomore to his junior campaign as he averaged 15.9 points per game, up 8.4 points per tilt from the 2016-17 season (7.5). He also contributed 2.0 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.0 steals per game in 33 starts for the Tigers.
Brown became the 36th player in program history to reach 1,000 career points after dropping 29 in the regular season finale against South Carolina and the 18th Auburn player to tally 1,000 career points prior to the end of their third season.
Following 107 makes from downtown during the 2017-18 season, just one shy of the program record, Brown moved into second on the program's all-time 3-pointers made list with 241.
Brown also got it done on the defensive end last campaign as he held his defensive matchup to shoot just 37 percent on the season and forced 100 turnovers while primarily guarding the opposition's top player.
By mid-February, the watch list of 20 players for the 2019 Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award will be narrowed to just 10. In March, five finalists will be presented to Mr. West and the Hall of Fame's selection committee. The winner of the 2019 Jerry West Award will be presented at The College Basketball Awards presented by Wendy's in Los Angeles, Calif. on Friday, April 12, 2019.
Previous winners of the Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award include Carsen Edwards, Purdue (2018), Malik Monk, Kentucky (2017), Buddy Hield, Oklahoma (2016) and D'Angelo Russell, Ohio State (2015).
Auburn tips off its season Nov. 6 vs. South Alabama at 8 p.m. CT on the SEC Network and the Auburn Sports Network. For tickets, please visit AUBTIX.com.
2019 Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award Watch List
Bryce Brown, Auburn
Jarron Cumberland, Cincinnati
Kellan Grady, Davidson
RJ Barrett, Duke
KeVaughn Allen, Florida
Zach Norvell, Gonzaga
Justin Wright-Foreman, Hofstra
Romeo Langford, Indiana
Quentin Grimes, Kansas
Barry Brown, Kansas State
Tyler Herro, Kentucky
Quinndary Weatherspoon, Mississippi State
James Palmer Jr., Nebraska
T.J. Gibbs, Notre Dame
Mustapha Heron, St. John's
Tyus Battle, Syracuse
Jarrett Culver, Texas Tech
Kyle Guy, Virginia
Jaylen Nowell, Washington
Fletcher Magee, Wofford
Candidates can play their way onto and off of the list at any point during the season