UCLA's Johnny Juzang Named to Updated Jerry West Award Watch List

Juzang is now in the running for the West Award and Wooden Award heading into the final month of the Bruins' regular season.

The Bruins' leading scorer continues to rack up the recognition heading into the home stretch.

No. 3 UCLA men's basketball (16-2, 8-1 Pac-12) guard Johnny Juzang was named to the updated midseason watch list for the Jerry West Award on Tuesday, given annually to the top shooting guard in the country. Juzang was a member of the 20-man preseason watch list released in October, and now he has made the cut for the award's top 10.

Juzang was also placed on the late season watch list for the John R. Wooden Award on Monday.

Arizona's Benedict Mathurin, Baylor's Adam Flagler, Iowa State's Izaiah Brockington, Kansas' Ochai Agbaji, Kentucky's TyTy Washington Jr., Purdue's Jaden Ivey, Syracuse's Buddy Boeheim and Villanova's Justin Moore were the other members of the midseason watch list. There will be three rounds of fan voting starting Feb. 4 to further narrow down the field, with five finalists set to be announced in March before the winner is eventually selected by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame’s selection committee.

Congratulations to @JohnnyJuzang on being selected as one of 10 players to the updated "watch list" for this season's Jerry West Award (nation's top shooting guard).#GoBruins | #WestAward

DETAILS: https://t.co/SHW2HfpHCO pic.twitter.com/ntkOm3UeAk

— UCLA Men’s Basketball (@UCLAMBB) February 1, 2022

COVID-19 protocols knocked Juzang out of the Bruins' last two games, but he was asymptomatic and could return to team facilities as soon as Wednesday.

Juzang had appeared in 23 consecutive games for UCLA dating back to last postseason, when he notably ascended to becoming a March Madness hero by averaging 22.6 points per game throughout the NCAA tournament. So far in 2021-2022, Juzang is averaging 18.1 points, 4.9 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 0.7 steals per game while shooting 45.6% from the field and 39.5% from deep.

Those shooting clips are both improvements on his numbers from a year ago, and while his free throw percentage has taken a slight dip, his attempts have gone up and his 83.7% mark is still No. 1 in the Pac-12. Juzang has the third-lowest turnover rate in the Pac-12 while ranking second in the conference in points per game. Among high major players, Juzang ranks No. 15 in scoring.

On a per 100 possession basis, Juzang is setting career highs across the board, and that's after entering the season as a unanimous preseason All-American.

Juzang has twice been named Pac-12 Player of the Week – first after helping UCLA defeat then-No. 5 Villanova at home in November, then again after averaging 25.5 points per game in the Bruins' road sweep of Utah and Colorado two weekends ago. Across his last five appearances, Juzang is putting up 22.6 points a night on .513/.500/.862 shooting splits.

UCLA has taken on two other members of the West Award watch list this season, beating both Mathurin and Moore.

Updated watch lists for the Julius Erving, Karl Malone and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Awards will be released throughout the rest of the week. Guard/forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. made it for the Erving Award and center Myles Johnson made it for the Abdul-Jabbar Award, while guard Tyger Campbell was named to the updated watch list for the Bob Cousy Award on Monday.

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