Antonio Reeves named to Jerry West Award Top 10 List: "One of the best guards in the country."

Kentucky’s Antonio Reeves is having himself an All-American caliber season. He’s one of the most efficient scorers in all of college basketball, averaging 19.5 points per game on insane shooting splits of 50.2/43.1/87.3 — all career highs. His 56 percent mark from two-range is also a career-best.

On Tuesday, he was recognized as one of the best shooting guards in the country.

Reeves, a fifth-year senior, was tabbed to the Jerry West Award Top 10 List by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. The Jerry West Award is handed out to the nation’s top two-guard. Most recently, Reeves is coming off an impressive performance on the road against Arkansas over the weekend that saw him score 24 points (14 in the second half) in a must-win game for Kentucky.

“I think Antonio’s one of the best guards in the country,” UK assistant coach Chuck Martin said on Tuesday morning. “I think people who watched us and have followed us — I mean, in my opinion, obviously I’m biased, he shoots the ball as well as anyone in the country.

“He’s starting to beat people off the dribble and finish at the rim at a high rate. If anyone who was at the game the other day at Arkansas, he was unbelievable defensively. So he’s been able to defend, shoot from the three, attack the rim, and he’s a great teammate. He’s, to me, he’s one of the best guards in the country.”

Fans can vote for Reeves — the only SEC player to make the ballot — to help him win the Jerry West Award through the link here. Fan voting officially opens on Friday, Feb. 2.

I asked Chuck Martin today about Antonio Reeves and his budding case as an All-American candidate.

"I think Antonio's one of the best guards in the country… In my opinion, he shoots the ball as well as anyone in the country."#AllAmericanAntonio

(shoutout @WildcatsTongue) pic.twitter.com/akrTBiYT5l

— Zack Geoghegan (@ZGeogheganKSR) January 30, 2024

You won’t find many who disagree with Martin’s above statement. Reeves continues to thrust himself into the All-American conversation. A push on social media this week from Kentucky fans has helped bring Reeves’ impressive 2023-24 campaign to light even more. There aren’t many other players in the country scoring the ball at the level the former Illinois State transfer is.

Reeves has scored in double-figures in all but one of his 19 outings this season. He’s poured in at least 20 points in 10 of those contests. His 63.6 true shooting percentage is among the best in the country. Reeves went from strictly being a shooter in 2022-23 to developing his game into an all-around contributor on both ends of the floor. During his Monday radio show, head coach John Calipari called Reeves Kentucky’s best perimeter defender.

“I wasn’t here last year, so I didn’t have anything to gauge, but obviously watching the film, he was a catch-and-shoot guy,” Martin added. “Anytime you have a catch-and-shoot guy who can’t beat people off the dribble, then they struggle.

“Well, what he’s done over the summer is really develop a floater, so when you chase him off the three-point line, he doesn’t necessarily get all the way to the rim in traffic, but just kind of that in between, 10-footer is unbelievable. The way he does it, the way he gets it off, he gets it off right foot, left foot. He’s really developed that shot and it’s become an unbelievable weapon for him.”

After winning SEC Sixth Man of the Year in his first run with Kentucky a season ago, Reeves is eyeing bigger trophies. All-SEC is all but certain at this rate, to the point where SEC Player of the Year is fully within reach. An All-American nod is absolutely on the table. Just to add on, he recently eclipsed the 2,000-point mark for his college career.

#AllAmericanAntonio

Jerry West Award Top 10 List

PLAYER NAME	SCHOOL
Trey Alexander	Creighton
LJ Cryer	Houston
Johnell Davis	FAU
RJ Davis	UNC
Boogie Ellis	USC
Caleb Love	Arizona
Kevin McCullar Jr	Kansas
Antonio Reeves	Kentucky
Tyson Walker	Michigan State
Ja’Kobe Walter	Baylor