Markus Howard has been named one of the 10 finalists for the 2020 Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year Award, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced Monday.
This is the second straight season Howard has been been a candidate for the honor. In 2019, Howard was one of five finalists.
The award is in its 17th year and recognizes the top NCAA Division I men’s basketball point guards. The national committee, which includes top college basketball personnel, announced the top 20 candidates on the watch list back in October.
“Since 2004, the Cousy Award has recognized the top collegiate point guard annually, forming a fellowship of recipients who have gone on to have wonderful success in the game,” John L. Doleva, President and CEO of the Basketball Hall of Fame, said in a statement. “The ten players on this list exhibit many of the characteristics that made Bob Cousy a world-class point guard and they should be proud to be recognized for their efforts at this juncture in the season.”
Former winners of the award include Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant, who won in 2019, former Villanova and Dallas Mavericks guard Jalen Brunson, who won in 2018, Milwaukee Bucks guard Frank Mason III, who won in 2017 and Boston Celtics guard Kemba Walker who won in 2011.
Cousy had an illustrious basketball career, which began when he played for The College of the Holy Cross from 1946-50 and won the NCAA Championship in 1947. In 1950, he was a First-Team All-American and was drafted into the NBA.
He was originally drafted by the Tri-Cities Blackhawks in 1950, but was immediately traded to the Chicago Stags and was eventually drawn by the Boston Celtics in a dispersal draft of the Stags’ franchise.
With the Celtics, Cousy was a six-time NBA Champion, 10-time All-NBA First Team honoree, 13-time NBA All-Star from 1951-63 and the NBA’s MVP in 1957. In 1953-60, he led the NBA in assists and in 1960 had a career-best 9.5 assists per game. The former Crusader holds the NBA record for most assists in one half, with 19 in a game against Minneapolis in 1959.
Cousy was selected as a member of the NBA’s 25th, 35th and 50th Anniversary All-Time Teams in 1970, 1980 and 1996, respectively. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1971.
The five finalists will be announced in March, and the winner will be announced at the College Basketball Awards April 10 in Los Angeles.
This article was written by Zoe Comerford. She can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @zoe_comerford.
