NCAA Basketball: Ranking top 20 players for 2023-24 Jerry West Award
![Mar 10, 2023; New York, NY, USA; Creighton Bluejays guard Trey Alexander (23) brings the ball up court against the Xavier Musketeers during the first half at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports Mar 10, 2023; New York, NY, USA; Creighton Bluejays guard Trey Alexander (23) brings the ball up court against the Xavier Musketeers during the first half at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/35f83a0274eec1c13cd8ff1bdcb781d90691397108a772581c308b0c82ad49a1.jpg)
The Jerry West Award is an annual NCAA Basketball prize given to the top shooting guards in the country. Last season, Marcus Sasser was the winner after averaging 16.8 ppg and leading the Houston Cougars to a 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
With Sasser now off to the pros, there will be a new winner for the Jerry West Award. The preseason list of candidates has been released, with 20 big names getting some love for now. But who’ll be the last man standing when it’s all said and done? Here’s how I would rank the candidates in terms of the likelihood of winning.
20. Tramon Mark – Arkansas Razorbacks
2022-23 season stats (at Houston): 10.1 ppg and 4.9 rpg
Mark has been a double-digit scorer in the past two years at Houston and now joins a reloaded backcourt with the Razorbacks. He’s a good defender and overall athlete but the concern is that it’s unclear how the overall rotation will work out and whether Mark will be a beneficiary of it. For now, I have to put the new transfer back.
19. Jordan Dingle – St. John’s Red Storm
2022-23 season stats (at Penn): 23.4 ppg and 2.3 apg
One of the top scorers in all NCAA Basketball last season, Dingle had multiple 30-point efforts en route to winning Ivy League Player of the Year. He’s now at St. John’s and new coach Rick Pitino and will have a major role as the projected starting two-guard. But right now, it’s a question in terms of whether Dingle’s scoring ability can translate to the Big East level.