NCAA Basketball: Ranking top 20 players for 2023-24 Jerry West Award

18. Stephon Castle – UConn Huskies

2022-23 season stats: N/A

Castle is a five-star incoming freshman guard who could also play on the ball since he’s fairly versatile. How good he plays could likely decide how good the Huskies are and their overall ceiling. But there’s also a chance that he’s the 5th option on the floor, with two returning starters and Rutgers transfer Cam Spencer also figuring to have a role in the lineup.

17. Kevin McCullar – Kansas Jayhawks

2022-23 season stats: 10.7 ppg and 7.0 rpg

McCullar posted up career numbers in his first year at Kansas, earning All-Big 12 honors. And without Gradey Dick and now Arterio Morris on the roster, a case can be made that he’ll be able to score more to have a viable shot at this award. But the 5th-year senior is who he is at this point and that’s a very good role player. It’s just hard to envision how he’ll get the stats needed to be in the mix.

16. Aidan Mahaney – Saint Mary’s Gaels

2022-23 season stats: 13.9 ppg and 2.0 apg

The 6’3 guard had a great freshman campaign for Saint Mary’s, second in scoring and shooting 40% from three-point range. Without leading scorer Logan Johnson around, there’s going to be more chances for Mahaney to have a big year. But it’s naturally going to be hard for a player from the WCC outside of Gonzaga to have a shot at these awards. And with the very slow offensive pace, his chances of putting up gaudy numbers are also low.