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Baylor Basketball

Jared Butler Named Cousy Award Finalist

February 22, 2021
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SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Baylor junior guard Jared Butler has been selected as one of five finalists for the 2021 Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year Award, as announced Monday by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

The annual honor, named after Class of 1971 Hall of Famer Bob Cousy, is now in its 18th season recognizing the top point guards in Division I college basketball.

The five finalists for the 2021 Bob Cousy Award are Butler, Gonzaga’s Jalen Suggs, Illinois’ Ayo Dosunmu, Oklahoma State’s Cade Cunningham and Villanova’s Collin Gillespie.

Butler has led the Bears to a 5-0 record over the last two seasons against the teams of the other four finalists. Baylor defeated Villanova in the 2019 Myrtle Beach Invitational, knocked off Illinois in the 2020 Jimmy V Classic and has gone 3-0 in Big 12 Conference play against Oklahoma State.

A National Player of the Year candidate, Butler is also on the Wooden Award Late Season 20, the Naismith Trophy Midseason Team, the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Watch List and the Lute Olson Award Midseason Watch List. He was tabbed as National Player of the Week by the NCAA, USBWA and Naismith Trophy on Jan. 25-26 after posting 30 points and eight assists in a win over then-No. 9 Kansas, followed by 22 points and six assists in a win at Oklahoma State.

A Reserve, La., native, Butler leads the Big 12 Conference in steals (2.4/game), 3-point percentage (.446) and 3-pointers made (2.7). He ranks second in the league in scoring (17.0 ppg) and assists (5.2/game), fourth in field goal percentage (.493) and fifth in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.89), while helping lead Baylor to a 17-0 record and No. 2 national ranking.

Butler ranks 11th nationally in 3-point percentage (.446), 12th in steals per game (2.41) and 43rd in assists per game (5.2). He also ranks No. 4 nationally in KenPom’s Player of the Year Standings. His 13 assists in a win at Kansas State on Dec. 19 are the nation’s fourth-most in a game this season and the most by a high-major conference player.

Butler also has posted 20-point games on the road against eight of nine Big 12 opponents over the last two seasons. This season, he’s recorded 20-point games at Iowa State (21), at TCU (28), at Oklahoma State (22) and at Texas (21). Last season, Butler posted 20-point games on the road at Kansas (22), at Kansas State (20), at Oklahoma (22) and at West Virginia (21).

Butler aims to become the second player in program history to win a national individual award, following Johnathan Motley’s 2017 Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year honor.

The Bears have three remaining regular-season games scheduled, with the first two at home against Iowa State (Tuesday) and West Virginia (Thursday) followed by a third on the road at Kansas (Saturday). The Big 12 Conference is working with teams to reschedule additional games which have been postponed during the week of March 1-7.

Follow @BaylorMBB on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook for updates throughout the year.


2021 BOB COUSY AWARD FINALISTS

Jared Butler, Baylor

Jalen Suggs, Gonzaga

Ayo Dosunmu, Illinois

Cade Cunningham, Oklahoma State

Collin Gillespie, Villanova

 

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Jared Butler Named Cousy Award Finalist

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