LOGAN, Utah - Utah State senior guard Sam Merrill has been named to the Jerry West Award Watch List, an annual award recognizing the top shooting guard in Division I men's collegiate basketball, as announced by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on Tuesday. A national committee of top college basketball personnel determined the watch list of 20 candidates.
"The Hall of Fame is proud to create connections between modern-day athletes and fans with the iconic figures in our game, such as Jerry West," said John L. Doleva, President and CEO of the Basketball Hall of Fame. "It is an honor to have his continued involvement in the Starting Five and we look forward integrating the fan voting component and we narrow the watch list this season."
Merrill, the 2019 Mountain West Player of the Year and MW Tournament MVP, led the Aggies to both the regular season and conference tournament title a season ago after pacing USU with a team-best 20.9 points per game. Merrill finished the year with 731 points, the fifth-most in a single season in Utah State history, while his average of 20.9 points per game ranked second in the MW. Merrill was also the top distributor for the Aggies, totaling a team-best 147 assists and averaging 4.2 per contest to rank fifth in the MW.
Merrill was also named third-team All-American by Stadium, AP honorable mention All-American, first-team all-Mountain West, first-team all-District 17 by the National Association of Basketball Coaches and all-District VIII by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association. Merrill will enter the 2019-20 season with 1,568 career points and could become just the fourth Aggie in the history of the program to eclipse 2,000 career points.
Merrill spent part of his offseason participating in the CP3 Elite Guard Camp as one of just 15 collegiate point guards invited to the camp. The camp annually features the top-30 high school point guards from around the country and the top-15 collegiate point guards for an intense three-day training camp with current NBA player Chris Paul of the Houston Rockets. Players were tutored by Paul on everything from skill development to film breakdown to life skills.
New to the award this season is Fan Voting presented by Dell Technologies in each of the three rounds. By mid-February, the watch list of 20 players for the 2020 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 2020 Jerry West Award will be presented at The College Basketball Awards presented by Wendy's in Los Angeles, CA on Friday, April 10, 2020, along with the other four members of the Men's Starting Five.
Previous winners of the Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award include RJ Barrett, Duke (2019), Carsen Edwards, Purdue (2018), Malik Monk, Kentucky (2017), Buddy Hield, Oklahoma (2016) and D'Angelo Russell, Ohio State (2015).
Merrill and the Utah State Aggies host The College of Idaho in an exhibition contest on Wednesday, Oct. 30, before welcoming Montana State to the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum on Tuesday, Nov. 5, for the home opener at 8 p.m.
Utah State men's basketball news and information is available on Facebook (facebook.com/usumensbasketball), on Twitter (@usubasketball) and on Instagram (@usubasketball). Fans can also get USU men's basketball highlights on YouTube (youtube.com/utahstateathletics). Aggie fans can follow the Utah State athletic program on Twitter (@usuathletics), on Facebook (facebook.com/usuathletics) or on Instagram (@usuathletics).
2020 Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award Candidates*
Isaiah Joe - Arkansas
Kamar Baldwin - Butler
Jarron Cumberland - Cincinnati
Ty-Shon Alexander - Creighton
Kellan Grady - Davidson
Antoine Davis - Detroit Mercy
Anthony Edwards - Georgia
Trent Frazier - Illinois
Joe Wieskamp - Iowa
Tyrese Maxey - Kentucky
Skylar Mays - LSU
Joshua Langford - Michigan State
Temple 'T.J.' Gibbs - Notre Dame
Breein Tyree - Ole Miss
Myles Powell - Seton Hall
A.J. Lawson - South Carolina
Mustapha Heron - St. John's
Desmond Bane - TCU
Jordan Bowden - Tennessee
Sam Merrill - Utah State
*Players can play their way onto and off of the list at any point in the 2019-20 season
-USU-
