Syracuse Basketball: Buddy Boeheim holds a distinction in Jerry West race

Syracuse basketball may be struggling so far in the 2021-22 campaign, but senior shooting guard Buddy Boeheim still remains in contention for the country’s most prestigious award honoring the best player at his position this season.

The watch list has come out detailing the 10 players currently in the running for the 2022 Jerry West Award, an annual recognition honoring the top shooting guard in men’s collegiate hoops.

Despite the Orange (10-11, 4-6) currently sitting under .500 as the team headed into a road contest at N.C. State on Wednesday night, the 6-foot-6 Boeheim is one of the 10 players on this watch list for the 2022 Jerry West Award, and that’s pretty cool stuff.

Through 21 regular-season encounters, Boeheim is averaging 19.4 points, 3.7 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.4 steals per affair, according to ESPN statistics.

Boeheim, who suits up for 37.7 minutes a game and often is guarded by an opponent’s top defender, is connecting on 40.8 percent from the field, 33.9 percent from beyond the arc, and 89.2 percent from the charity stripe.

Syracuse basketball senior Buddy Boeheim remains in the hunt for a national award.

As we detailed in a piece earlier this week, Boeheim has entered into the top-20 overall on the all-time scoring list for the ‘Cuse program, which is a tremendous achievement considering that the Orange is one of the winningest squads in the history of the sport.

By the way, the other nine players on the watch list for the 2022 Jerry West Award are Arizona’s Bennedict Mathurin, Baylor’s Adam Flagler, Iowa State’s Izaiah Brockington, Kansas’ Ochai Agbaji, Kentucky’s TyTy Washington Jr., Purdue’s Jaden Ivey, UCLA’s Johnny Juzang, Villanova’s Justin Moore and Wisconsin’s Johnny Davis.

I believe that this group does get narrowed down to five players prior to a winner being selected. Boeheim, who crushed things on the court a week ago, is the only player on the current watch list whose team doesn’t presently have a winning record.

On the one hand, it stinks that Syracuse basketball is below the .500 mark to date in 2021-22. On the other hand, I find it to be awesome that Boeheim was included despite the Orange’s struggles.

Taking it a step further, every other player on the 10-person watch list suits up for a squad that is currently ranked in the Associated Press top-25 poll.

UCLA is No. 3, Purdue is No. 4, Kentucky is No. 5, Arizona is No. 7, Baylor is No. 8, Kansas is No. 10, Wisconsin is No. 11, Villanova is No. 12 and Iowa State is No. 20.

Naturally, ‘Cuse fans hope that the team can go on a run and pile up some victories. Short of that, I’m really happy that Buddy Boeheim is being recognized for his special senior year.