Tyson Walker makes top 10 for the Jerry West Award

Tyson Walker made the mid-season top 10 for the Jerry West Award, given annually to the nation’s best shooting guard.

Michigan State’s star guard Tyson Walker has been having an excellent season this year. He has been carrying the team all year and is the Spartans’ leading scorer.

The rest of the nation has taken notice to the amazing season Walker has been having, so much so that Tyson was just named to the top 10 list for the Jerry West Award.

#WestAward Top 10 from @HoopHall has been announced 👏 pic.twitter.com/Hb4fENhGCR

— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) January 30, 2024

The Jerry West Award goes to the best shooting guard in the country at the end of the season. Tyson has been tied to the Naismith Award which goes to the best overall player as well, so it’s no surprise to see him on this list as well.

This top 10 list is full of extremely good players. Many of these other players listed are having equally great if not better seasons than Tyson. So Walker’s going to need a historic finish to the season if he’s going to win this award.

Tyson Walker chasing history

So far this season, Walker is averaging 18.9 points, 3.1 assists, and 2.6 rebounds per game. Those 18.9 points per game are very significant for many reasons, but none more than the what Tyson is chasing. No Spartan has averaged 20 points per game since Shawn Respert in 1995. So if Tyson can increase that average just a little he could do something for the first time in nearly 30 years.

This isn’t the only program record Tyson is chasing, however. He is also just two games away from tying a record held by Kalin Lucas for most consecutive double-digit scoring games. Lucas’ record is 33 and Tyson currently sits at 31 straight games. So Walker is just a few games away from setting this record.

Now I’m not sure if Walker can win the Jerry West Award, but these two program records are well within reach. Obviously the team’s success comes first, but these are two fun things to cheer for on the side as well.