Men’s basketball player reviews: Jake West

The Bad

When considering how West started the year and the expectations placed on him coming out of high school, his play near the end of the season was especially impressive. After West led William Penn Charter High School to an undefeated conference record in his senior season, 247 Sports labeled him a “quick, smart and aggressive point guard,” but still raised serious concerns about his small 6-foot-3, 170-pound frame. While it was clear West had the potential to develop into a premier point guard, scouts doubted his ability to immediately assert himself as an impact college player.

Through the first half of the ’Cats’ season — “the bad” of West’s first-year campaign — scouts’ evaluations held. West was not a major part of Collins’ regular rotation, seemingly not ready for the physicality of college basketball. He averaged just 11.4 minutes in the first 13 games of the year, with a season-low two minutes of on-court action in the ‘Cats’ 86-82 home defeat against Ohio State.

In the second half of the season, West managed to flip a switch. However, while the first-year demonstrated he could be an impact player even as a small guard, his size still limited his ability to stand out consistently in the box score. West was somewhat of a one-dimensional scorer, with 45.1% of his field goals being three-pointers. While that isn’t a “bad” percentage, it leans more towards the identity of a three-point specialist rather than a combo guard. For reference, Braden Smith, arguably the Big Ten’s best point guard last season, scored just 32.5% of his field goals from deep while shooting at a similar percentage to West (36.2%).

West’s size also limited his defensive capabilities at times. While he provided high energy and rotational hustle, West could still get burned by the more physical guards of the Big Ten, and wasn’t able to be much of a help in stopping 30+ point games from Tariq Francis (Rutgers) and Bennett Stirtz (Iowa). West finished the season with a defensive Bayesian player rating of 1.32, which was fifth on Northwestern.

The Bottom Line

After Purdue ended Northwestern’s season on March 12, the chaos of the transfer portal left Northwestern as “Jake West’s team.”

Of the three Wildcats returning to Collins’ squad for the 2026-27 season, West showed the most promise late in the year, starting in the ‘Cats’ final 17 games. As a result, in many ways, the fate of Northwestern basketball rests in the hands of the Philadelphia-native.

In his sophomore campaign, West will be the face of the team, orchestrating Collins’ offense from the point guard position as he did down the stretch of the season. Fortunately, West flashed the potential to become a program-defining player during his first year in Evanston. The former three-star was already one of the ‘Cats’ best high-volume three-point shooters, while garnering national attention with his elite court vision, securing the ‘Cats’ game-high in assists on six separate occasions.

There’s no doubt a summer of development lies ahead for the rising sophomore. But, with increased size, strength and scoring versatility, West just might become something special.