Antonio Reeves tabbed as finalist for Jerry West Award

The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame believes that Antonio Reeves is one of the five best shooting guards in all of college basketball. Could he go down as the best by season’s end?

On Tuesday afternoon, the five finalists for the 2024 Jerry West Award, which recognizes the top shooting guard in the country, were announced. Reeves made the cut, as did Arizona’s Caleb Love, Kansas’ Kevin McCullar Jr., Michigan State’s Tyson Walker, and North Carolina’s RJ Davis.

The Big Blue Nation can help Reeves win the award outright. Fans are encouraged to vote for their favorite player starting on Friday, March 8 through hoophallawards.com. Fan Votes will count as one committee vote during the final selection process.

#AllAmericanAntonio @ToniooReeves is a finalist for the Jerry West Award, which recognizes the top shooting guard in #CollegeBasketball

📰🔗https://t.co/2vWCbuuyWr pic.twitter.com/1WzVLn62lP

— Kentucky Men’s Basketball (@KentuckyMBB) March 5, 2024

During the Jerry West Award’s 10 years of history, the only Kentucky player to earn the distinction was Malik Monk back in 2017. But there’s a very real chance that Reeves joins the club when a winner is decided at a “to-be-determined date”.

Let’s see how Reeves’ per-game numbers compare to his competition.

• Reeves: 20 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 1.7 APG, 1.3 TOV, 31.5 MPG | 50.9/44.2/87.6
• Love: 19.4 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 3.5 APG, 1.2 SPG, 1.9 TOV, 32.3 MPG | 43.5/36.2/86.7
• McCullar: 19.1 PPG, 6.4 RPG, 4.3 APG, 1.5 SPG, 2.7 TOV, 35.3 MPG | 46.4/33.6/79.6
• Walker: 18 PPG, 2.9 RPG, 2.9 APG, 1.9 SPG, 1.4 TOV, 32.5 MPG | 44.7/37.2/72.9
• Davis: 21.4 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 3.4 APG, 1.3 SPG, 1.6 TOV, 34.9 MPG | 42.9/41.1/89.2

Just looking at the counting stats, Reeves is second in points per game but trails all four competitors in assists. He’s the only one not registering at least one steal per game. This is for the nation’s top shooting guard though. Reeves is significantly better (percentage-wise) at shooting the ball than the others and is second in free-throw shooting. He’s only a couple more made freebies away from joining the elusive 50/40/90 club. Another important note: Reeves plays the fewest minutes per game of the five-man group. He also turns the ball over at the lowest rate.

Reeves’ consistency is what stands out the most. Only once this season has he failed to reach double-figures in scoring — and even then he scored nine points in a win over North Carolina. He’s posted at least 20 points in 17 of his 29 games played and has hit at least two three-pointers in 20 of them. The fifth-year senior has dropped at least 20 points in five straight outings now.

He’ll look to make it six in a row on Wednesday during Senior Night. Reeves will take the Rupp Arena floor one last time as Kentucky hosts Vanderbilt at 9:00 p.m. EST on the SEC Network.