UConn’s Solo Ball named finalist for Jerry West Award

UConn’s Solo Ball was named a top five finalist for the Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award, the Naismith Hall of Fame announced on Tuesday.

Ball, the Huskies’ leading scorer and a Second Team All-Big East honoree, averaged 13.9 points per game on 40.5% shooting from the field and 30.7% from beyond the arc. He added 3.4 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game, and was top five in the Big East with 63 made 3-pointers and seventh averaging 2.1 made 3s per game.

The junior from Leesburg, Virginia, became the 54th UConn men’s basketball player to reach 1,000 points in a Huskies’ uniform and currently ranks No. 50 in scoring all-time with 1,051 points. He has 185 made 3-pointers in his career, which ranks 13th all-time, and is 14 away from cracking the top 10.

UConn men make Big East history as all-conference teams are announced. See who made it

Ball has had 20 games in double-figure scoring and four with at least 20 points, including a career-high 26-point effort in a home win over Butler, and 24 points at home against Villanova and on the road at Butler, when he made five and six 3-pointers, respectively.

The other finalists for the West Award are Arizona’s Brayden Burries, Duke’s Isaiah Evans, Emanuel Sharp from Houston and Keaton Wagler from Illinois.

AP announces Big East awards

The Associated Press announced its Big East awards on Tuesday with three Huskies on the first team.

Silas Demary Jr., Tarris Reed Jr. and Alex Karaban – who were all named to the first team All-Big East by the league’s coaches on Sunday – also found a spot on the AP’s First Team, which was voted on by the league’s media, including The Courant.

Demary Jr. was voted the first Transfer Newcomer of the Year and also landed a spot on the top 25 watch list for the Lefty Driesell Award for the nation’s top defensive player, awarded by collegeinsider.com, on Tuesday.

First team: Silas Demary Jr., UConn; Michael Ajayi, Butler; Zuby Ejiofor, St. John’s; Alex Karaban, UConn; Tarris Reed Jr., UConn

Second team: Budd Clark, Seton Hall; Nigel James Jr., Marquette; Jaylin Sellers, Providence; Bryce Hopkins, St. John’s; Tre Carroll, Xavier

Coach of the Year: Shaheen Holloway, Seton Hall

Player of the Year: Zuby Ejiofor, St. John’s

Freshman of the Year: Nigel James Jr., Marquette

Transfer Newcomer of the Year: Silas Demary Jr., UConn