Baylor MBB’s Butler Named to Cousy Award Top 10
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Baylor men’s basketball junior guard Jared Butler has been selected as one of the top 10 candidates for the 2021 Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year Award, as announced Monday by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
Butler is one of two Big 12 players on the watch list, joining Oklahoma State’s Cade Cunningham. Additional candidates include Colorado’s McKinley Wright IV, Creighton’s Marcus Zegarowski, Florida State’s Scottie Barnes, Gonzaga’s Jalen Suggs, Illinois’ Ayo Dosunmu, Louisville’s Carlik Jones, Minnesota’s Marcus Carr and Villanova’s Collin Gillespie.
A Reserve, La., native, Butler leads the Big 12 in steals (2.3), 3-point percentage (.494) and 3-pointers made (2.9), ranks third in scoring (17.1), second in assists (5.4), second in field goal percentage (.503) and sixth in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.90).
He’s tied for the Big 12 lead with four games of 20-plus points in conference play and ranks second in the league with five 20-point games on the season. He also recorded 13 assists in Baylor’s win at Kansas State on Dec. 19, the most by any player in a Big 12 game since Oklahoma’s Trae Young had 14 at Texas in 2018.
Butler was named NCAA National Player of the Week, Naismith Trophy Player of the Week and Big 12 Player of the Week on Monday after averaging 26.0 points and 7.0 assists while knocking down 13-of-16 3-point attempts to lead the Bears to a pair of victories. He posted 30 points and made 7-of-9 3-pointers in Monday’s win over Kansas, joining Kevin Durant as the only players in the Big 12 Conference’s 25-year history to record multiple 30-point games against Kansas.
Butler then recorded 22 points and made 6-of-7 from 3-point range in Saturday’s win at Oklahoma State. Following Saturday’s game at Oklahoma State, Butler has now posted 20-point games in eight of 10 Big 12 arenas over the last two seasons.
Named after Class of 1971 Hall of Famer and former Boston Celtic and Holy Cross guard Bob Cousy, the Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year Award is now in its 18th year recognizing the top point guards in Division I men’s college basketball. A national committee of college basketball personnel determined the watch list of 20 candidates in November, which has now been narrowed to 10.
In late February, five finalists will be presented to Mr. Cousy and the Hall of Fame’s selection committee. The winner of the 2021 Bob Cousy Award will be presented April 9, 2021, along with the other four members of the Men’s 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. College basketball fans can support their favorite players by participating in Fan Voting presented by Dell.
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).
For more information on the 2021 Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year Award and the latest updates, log onto www.hoophallawards.com and follow @hoophall and #CousyAward on Twitter and Instagram. Starting Five Fan Voting presented by Dell Technologies will go live on Friday, January 29 at hoophallawards.com.
Baylor returns to action Wednesday when the Bears host Kansas State at the Ferrell Center for the 94th anniversary Immortal Ten Game. The game will tip off at 8 p.m. CT and will be televised on ESPN2. The Bears then host Auburn at 1 or 3 p.m. CT Saturday on ESPN for the annual Big 12/SEC Challenge. Follow @BaylorMBB on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook for updates throughout the year.
2021 COUSY AWARD TOP 10 WATCH LIST
Jared Butler, Baylor
McKinley Wright IV, Colorado
Marcus Zegarowski, Creighton
Scottie Barnes, Florida State
Jalen Suggs, Gonzaga
Ayo Dosunmu, Illinois
Carlik Jones, Louisville
Marcus Carr, Minnesota
Cade Cunningham, Oklahoma State
Collin Gillespie, Villanova
2020-21 BAYLOR MBB HONORS
Jared Butler
Wooden Award Midseason Top 25 Watch List
Cousy Award Top 10 Watch List
Naismith Trophy Preseason Watch List
NCAA National Player of the Week (Jan. 25)
Naismith Trophy Player of the Week (Jan. 25)
Big 12 Player of the Week (Jan. 25)
Preseason All-America Team (Associated Press)
Preseason Big 12 Player of the Year
Preseason All-Big 12 Team (unanimous)
No. 5 on CBS Sports Top 101 Players in College Basketball
No. 2 on The Athletic’s Top 20 Guards in College Basketball