Wong Tabbed a Jerry West Award Finalist
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – Isaiah Wong of the University of Miami men’s basketball team is among the five finalists for the elite Jerry West Award, as announced Tuesday afternoon by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
Named after Class of 1980 Hall of Famer and 1959 NCAA Final Four Most Valuable Player Jerry West, the annual honor in its ninth year recognizes the top shooting guards in Division I men’s college basketball.
Wong joins Kansas’ Gradey Dick, Baylor’s Adam Flagler, UConn’s Jordan Hawkins and Houston’s Marcus Sasser on the list of finalists.
The 2022-23 ACC Player of the Year, Wong is also one of 15 finalists for the prestigious Wooden Award National Ballot.
A native of Piscataway, N.J., Wong is averaging team bests in points (15.9), assists (3.4) and steals (1.4) per contest. He is also third among Hurricanes in rebounding (4.4), while shooting 44.2 percent from the field, 38.1 percent on 3-pointers and 82.9 percent at the stripe.
Isaiah Wong is 1️⃣ of 5️⃣ finalists for the Jerry West Award. 👏🙌@zaywong21
🗞️: https://t.co/TvAOmcvwAe pic.twitter.com/Z8zhdezMGJ
— Canes Men’s Basketball (@CanesHoops) March 7, 2023
Wong possesses the highest single-game point total in the league this year (36 vs. Cornell on 12/7/22) and is a two-time ACC Player of the Week, once earning USBWA National Player of the Week. He ranks sixth in the ACC in made free throws (121), eighth in steals per game and free-throw percentage, co-eighth in 20-point games (nine), No. 11 in points per game, No. 13 in field-goal percentage and No. 14 in assists per game.
Fans can support their favorite players in the remaining rounds by participating in Fan Voting, presented by Dell Technologies, starting Friday, February 10, on hoophallawards.com. The Fan Vote will count as one committee vote during the finalist selection process.
This month, the finalists will be presented to West and the Hall of Fame’s selection committee. The Selection Committee for the Jerry West Award is composed of top men’s college basketball personnel including media members, head coaches, sports information directors and Hall of Famers. The winner of the 2023 Jerry West Award will be presented on a to-be-determined date, along with the other four members of the Men’s Starting Five.
Wong and the top-seeded Hurricanes start ACC Tournament action Thursday at noon versus either eighth-seeded Syracuse or ninth-seeded Wake Forest at the Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, N.C, live on ESPN or ESPN2.
To keep up with the University of Miami men’s basketball team on social media, follow @CanesHoops on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
