SPRINGFIELD, Mass.– Gonzaga's
Jalen Suggs was named one of the five finalists for the 2021 Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year Award the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced Monday.
Named after Class of 1971 Hall of Famer and former Boston Celtic and Holy Cross point guard Bob Cousy, the annual honor now in its 18th year recognizes the top point guards in Division I men's college basketball.
The five finalists for the 2021 Bob Cousy Award are Jared Butler (Baylor),
Jalen Suggs (Gonzaga), Ayo Dosunmu (Illinois), Cade Cunningham (Oklahoma State) and Collin Gillespie (Villanova).
Suggs leads the West Coast Conference in steals per game (2.00). The freshman is also fifth in the WCC in assists per game (4.25), fourth in field goal percentage (51.2 percent), and 11th in scoring (14.05). He's been named the West Coast Conference Freshman of the Week nine times this season. Suggs was named the league's Player of the Week after scoring a season-high 27 points in a win over then-ranked No. 3 Iowa. The West Saint Paul, Minn., native, has scored in double digits 14 times and dished out at least five assists in 10 games.
"The five point guards considered as finalists for this esteemed award have lead their teams in a variety of ways through what has been an unusual season of college basketball to say the least," said John L. Doleva, President and CEO of the Basketball Hall of Fame. "They continually demonstrate the playmaking and leadership skills that Bob Cousy displayed, which will serve them well as they play out the remainder of the season and ultimately compete for a championship."
A national committee of top college basketball personnel determined the watch list of 20 student-athletes in November, which was narrowed to 10 candidates in January and now just five finalists. This month, the finalists will be presented to Mr. Cousy and the Hall of Fame's selection committee. The winner of the 2021 Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year Award will be determined by a combination of fan votes and input from the Basketball Hall of Fame's selection committee. Naismith Starting Five Fan Voting presented by Dell Technologies will go live Feb. 26 on hoophallawards.com.
The winner of the 2021 Bob Cousy Award will be presented on ESPN, along with the other four members of the Men's Naismith Starting Five. Additional awards being presented include the Jerry West Shooting Guard Award, the Julius Erving Small Forward Award, the Karl Malone Power Forward Award and the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center Award, in addition to the Women's Starting Five. Additional information about the award presentation, including date and time, will be released in the coming weeks.
Previous winners of the Bob Cousy Award include Payton Pritchard, Oregon (2020), Ja Morant, Murray State (2019), Jalen Brunson, Villanova (2018), Frank Mason III, Kansas (2017), Tyler Ulis, Kentucky (2016), Delon Wright, Utah (2015), Shabazz Napier, Connecticut (2014), Trey Burke, Michigan (2013), Kendall Marshall, North Carolina (2012), Kemba Walker, Connecticut (2011), Greivis Vasquez, Maryland (2010), Ty Lawson, North Carolina (2009), DJ Augustin, Texas (2008), Acie Law, Texas A & M (2007), Dee Brown, Illinois (2006), Raymond Felton, North Carolina (2005) and Jameer Nelson, St. Joseph's (2004).
