Florida State University Athletics
Walker Named To Jerry West Award Watch List
11/3/2020 1:00:30 PM | Men's Basketball
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (seminoles.com) – M.J. Walker, who helped lead Florida State to the second ACC Championship in school history in 2020, has been named to the prestigious Jerry West Award Watch List by the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. The award is presented annually to the top shooting guard in college basketball. Walker is one of 20 players – and one of only two from the Atlantic Coast Conference – who will vie for the award. For Walker, it’s the second time in his career that he has been named to the Jerry West Award Watch List; he also began his freshman season of 2018 as a candidate for the award.
The award is named after West Virginia’s Jerry West, the 1959 NCAA Final Four Most Valuable Player and member of the Naismith Hall of Fame. West has long been considered one of the greatest shooters in the history of college basketball who averaged 24.8 points in 93 career games at West Virginia.
Walker (Riverdale, Ga.) returns as a starter for the third consecutive season for the Seminoles in 2020-21. He averaged a career-high 10.6 points and 1.7 rebounds while making a career-high tying 44 3-point shots as a junior in leading the Seminoles to the ACC Championship and the verge the NCAA Tournament before it was cancelled by the onset of the coronavirus. Walker and the Seminoles were among the heavy favorites to win the NCAA Championship when the event was cancelled.
Walker enters his senior season with 78 wins as a member of the Seminoles as he looks to become the winningest player in school history. The current school record of 104 wins is held by Trent Forrest (2017-20). Walker was a member of Florida State’s 2020 Regular Season ACC Championship Team. The Seminoles won the ACC Championship with a 16-4 mark as the 16 ACC victories set the school record for conference wins in a single season.
Walker has played in two NCAA Tournaments and seven NCAA Tournament games in his three seasons as a Seminole.
Walker enters his senior season well positioned to write his name prominently in the Seminoles record book when his career is completed. He begins his final season as a Seminole ranked 13th in school history with 129 career 3-point field goals made and needs only 11 3-point field goals made to become just the 10th player in school history with at least 150 career 3-point field goals made. Walker needs just 46 to become just the ninth player in school history with at least 175 career 3-point field goals. He is tied for 14th in school history with 375 career 3-point field goals attempted and tied for 17th in school history with his .781 career free throw shooting percentage.
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.
Previous winners of the Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award include Myles Powell, Seton Hall (2020), RJ Barrett, Duke (2019), Carsen Edwards, Purdue (2018), Malik Monk, Kentucky (2017), Buddy Hield, Oklahoma (2016) and D’Angelo Russell, Ohio State (2015).
Starting Five Fan Voting presented by Dell Technologies will go live on Friday, November 6.
2021 Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award Candidates
M.J. Walker, Sr., Florida State
John Petty Jr., Sr., Alabama
Isaiah Joe, So., Arkansas
Terry Taylor, Sr., Austin Peay
MaCio Teague, Sr., Baylor
Matt Bradley, Jr., California
James Bouknight, So., Connecticut
Mitch Ballock, Sr., Creighton
Kellan Grady, Sr., Davidson
Antonie Davis, Jr., Detroit Mercy
DJ Steward, Fr., Duke
Joel Ayayi, Jr., Gonzaga
Caleb Mills, So., Houston
Joe Weiskamp, Jr., Iowa
Ochai Agabaji, Jr., Kansas
Terrence Clarke, Fr., Kentucky
Franz Wagner, So., Michigan
Jordan Goodwin, Sr., Saint Louis
Justin Moore, So., Villanova
Paul Scruggs, Sr., Xavier