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Jaden Ivey has had quite a journey in less than two years at Purdue. He has gone from he No. 79 national recruit in the class of 2020 to projected NBA lottery pick should he choose to enter the 2022 NBA Draft (and let’s be honest, he gone). He can also still collect some hardware as he was named a finalist for the Jerry West Award given to the nation’s best shooting guard:
Ivey is joined on the list by Arizona’s Bennedict Mathurin, Baylor’s Adam Flager, Iowa State’s Izaiah Brockington, Kansas’ Ochai Agbaji, Kentucky’s TyTy Washington, Syracuse’s Buddy Boeheim, UCLA’s Johnny Juzang, Villanova’s Justin Moore and Wisconsin’s Johnny Davis.
A 6-foot, 4-inch sophomore from South Bend, Indiana, Ivey is averaging 16.8 points, 4.9 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game, while shooting 48.5 percent from the field and 44.2 percent from 3-point range. He is near a pace to become the third Boilermaker to average 16, 5 and 3 in a season in school history (Caleb Swanigan, E’Twaun Moore).
Ivey would be the second Purdue player to win the award, as Carsen Edwards took it home after the 2017-18 season and nearly won it a second year in a row in 2018-19.