University of Connecticut Athletics
Bouknight Named To Naismith Trophy Watch List
11/18/2020 11:14:00 PM | Men's Basketball
UConn Sophomore One Of 5 BIG EAST Players
ATLANTA (November 19, 2020) – UConn sophomore guard James Bouknight has been named to the 2021 Jersey Mike's Naismith Trophy Watch List, announced today by the Atlanta Tipoff Club. The award is given annually at the end of the season to the College Player of the Year.
Bouknight is one of just five players from the BIG EAST Conference who appear on the 50-player list. The others are Villanova's Collin Gillespie and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, Creighton's Marcus Zegarowski and Seton Hall's Sandro Mamukelashvili.
Bouknight, who was also named to the Watch List for the Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award, is UConn's leading returning scorer from last season (13.0). He established himself early in the season, earning a place on the Charleston Classic All-Tournament Team. He exploded in the final weeks of the season, helping the Huskies to a 9-3 record in their last 12 games, averaging 17.3 points and 5.3 rebounds during that span. He was an American Athletic Conference all-conference third team pick, and a unanimous selection on the AAC All-Freshman Team. This year, he has been selected to the Preseason All-BIG EAST Second Team.
The Watch List also includes the 2020 Jersey Mike's Naismith High School Trophy winner, Cade Cunningham, now a freshman at Oklahoma State University, the 2020 Naismith Men's Defensive Player of the Year winner, Marcus Garrett from Kansas, and Iowa's Luka Garza, who was a finalist for the 2020 Men's Player of the Year honor.
"The beginning of the season is filled with excitement, optimism and anticipation as each team and every player is undefeated, making the race for the Jersey Mike's Naismith Trophy wide open. While these 50 candidates are those to keep an eye on, there will be plenty of others who will enter the competition throughout the season," said Eric Oberman, executive director of the Atlanta Tipoff Club. "This year will be especially exciting as players who were unable to finish their seasons last year have even more to prove."
A list of the midseason 30 team will be released in early February, followed by the 10 national semifinalists and four finalists on March 4, 2021, and March 16, 2021, respectively. Players who do not make the watch list are still eligible to be selected for the midseason 30 team. The 2021 Jersey Mike's Naismith Trophy will be awarded during the Final Four at the Naismith Awards Brunch on April 4, 2021.
COMPLETE 2021 NAISMITH TROPHY WATCH LIST
