Hempstead, NY - Hofstra senior guard Justin Wright-Foreman received one the highest preseason honors of his tremendous career when he was named to the 2019 Jerry West Award Pre-Season Watch List, it was announced today by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. 

The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced today the 20 watch list members for the 2019 Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award. Named after Class of 1980 Hall of Famer and 1959 NCAA Final Four Most Valuable Player Jerry West, the annual honor in its fifth year recognizes the top shooting guards in Division I men's college basketball. A national committee comprised of top college basketball personnel determined the watch list of 20 candidates.

In arguably one of the best individual seasons in Hofstra Basketball history, Wright-Foreman put on a dazzling display in 2017-18 as he went on to win a slew of awards and averaging more than 24 points per game. 

The Colonial Athletic Association Player of the Year, Wright-Foreman averaged 24.4 points per contest to rank fifth nationally and first on Hofstra and in the conference. Wright-Foreman was just the fourth player in program history to earn CAA Player of the Year honors as he joined Loren Stokes (2007), Charles Jenkins (2010 and 2011) and Juan'ya Green (2016). 

It was a remarkable season for the junior from Queens, New York, as he was the first Hofstra player to average at least 20 points per game since Charles Jenkins in 2010-11 and his scoring average was the highest for a Pride player since Richie Laurel poured in 30.3 points per outing during the 1976-77 campaign. 

The awards came piling in for Wright-Foreman as in addition to his CAA Player of the Year honor, he was also the ECAC Player of the Year, Associated Press Honorable Mention All-American, as well as an All-CAA, NABC All-District and All-Met first team selection.

He enters his senior season with 1,379 career points to rank 13th in program history. Wright-Foreman is seventh all-time at Hofstra with 167 three-pointers. 

Jerry West attended West Virginia University and averaged 24.8 points and 13.3 rebounds per game in his three varsity seasons. He led his team to the NCAA Championship game in 1959 and was named a consensus All-American in 1959 and 1960. In the summer of 1960, he was co-captain of the U.S. men's basketball team and won an Olympic gold medal. As a professional player, West played 14 seasons in the NBA with the Lakers making the All-NBA First Team 10 times. West won an NBA championship in 1972 and was named the NBA Finals MVP in 1969 despite his team not winning the championship. In 1996, he was named a member of the NBA's 50th Anniversary All-Time Team. 

By mid-February, the watch list of 20 players for the 2019 Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award will be narrowed to just 10. In March, five finalists will be presented to Mr. West and the Hall of Fame's selection committee.  The winner of the 2019 Jerry West Award will be presented at the ESPN College Basketball Awards Show presented by Wendy's in Los Angeles, CA on Friday, April 12, 2019, along with the other four members of the Naismith Starting 5. Additional awards being presented include the Bob Cousy Point Guard Award, the Julius Erving Small Forward Award, the Karl Malone Power Forward Award and the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center Award. Broadcast information will be released at a later date.

Previous winners of the Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award include Carsen Edwards, Purdue (2018), Malik Monk, Kentucky (2017), Buddy Hield, Oklahoma (2016) and D'Angelo Russell, Ohio State (2015). 

For more information on the 2019 Jerry West Award and the latest updates, log onto www.hoophallawards.com and follow @hoophall on Twitter and Instagram.