McKinley Wright IV
Photo by: Joel Broida
Wright Named To Bob Cousy Award Watch List
October 14, 2019 | Men's Basketball
BOULDER — University of Colorado junior guard McKinley Wright IV has been named to the watch list for the 2020 Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year Award, announced Monday by The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
Named after Class of 1971 Hall of Famer and former Boston Celtic and Holy Cross guard Bob Cousy, the annual honor now in its 17th year recognizes the top point guards in Division I men's college basketball. A national committee of top college basketball personnel determined the watch list of 20 candidates.
An All-Pac-12 Conference selection, Wright averaged 13.0 points, 4.8 assists and 1.1 steals for the Buffaloes as a sophomore in 2018-19. He led the Buffaloes in assists, steals and 3-point percentage (.365), while ranking second in scoring, field goal shooting (.494) and free throw percentage (.807) and third in rebounding (4.9 rpg).
On the Pac-12 leaderboard, Wright was third in assists, eighth in free throw percentage, 10th in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.5), 12th in field goal percentage and 17th in scoring. His field goal shooting was the second-best among back court players in the Pac-12.
Wright was recently selected to the 2019-20 Preseason All-Pac-12 First Team voted on by members of the media. He is Colorado's active career leader in points (910) and assists (342) and enters the season ninth in career assists and 41st in points, well on pace to become the 35th player in history to reach the 1,000-point plateau.
New to the award this season is Fan Voting presented by Dell Technologies in each of the three rounds. By mid-February, the watch list of 20 players for the 2020 Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year Award will be narrowed to just 10. In March, five finalists will be presented to Mr. Cousy and the Hall of Fame's selection committee. The winner of the 2020 Bob Cousy Award will be presented at The College Basketball Awards presented by Wendy's in Los Angeles, Calif., on Friday, April 10, 2020, along with the other four members of the Men's Starting Five.
"Since 2004, the Hall of Fame has had the honor of bestowing the Bob Cousy Award on the best point guards in the collegiate game, forming an amazing list of award winners who have gone on to have tremendous success at the professional level," said John L. Doleva, President and CEO of the Basketball Hall of Fame. "This year, we are excited to announce Starting Five Fan Voting presented by Dell Technologies, which will allow fans to voice their opinions and support their favorite players in each of the three rounds. We greatly appreciate the support of Dell Technologies, the fans, our selection committee and the namesake of the award, Mr. Bob Cousy."
Cousy played for Holy Cross from 1946-1950 winning an NCAA Championship in 1947. He was named a Consensus First-Team All-American in 1950. His success continued at the professional level as a six-time NBA Champion (1957, 1959-1963), NBA Most Valuable Player (1957) and 13-time NBA All-Star (1951-63). In 1996, he was named a member of the NBA's 50th Anniversary All-Time Team.
Additional awards being presented and receiving support from Eaton Ephesus Lighting 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. Broadcast information will be released by ESPN at a later date.
Previous winners of the Bob Cousy Award include 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 2020 Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year Award and the latest updates, log onto www.hoophallawards.com and follow @hoophall on Twitter and Instagram. Starting Five Fan Voting presented by Dell Technologies will go live on Friday, October 18.
2020 Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year Award Candidates*
*Players can play their way onto and off of the list at any point in the 2019-20 season*
^Colorado opponent in 2019-20
Named after Class of 1971 Hall of Famer and former Boston Celtic and Holy Cross guard Bob Cousy, the annual honor now in its 17th year recognizes the top point guards in Division I men's college basketball. A national committee of top college basketball personnel determined the watch list of 20 candidates.
An All-Pac-12 Conference selection, Wright averaged 13.0 points, 4.8 assists and 1.1 steals for the Buffaloes as a sophomore in 2018-19. He led the Buffaloes in assists, steals and 3-point percentage (.365), while ranking second in scoring, field goal shooting (.494) and free throw percentage (.807) and third in rebounding (4.9 rpg).
On the Pac-12 leaderboard, Wright was third in assists, eighth in free throw percentage, 10th in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.5), 12th in field goal percentage and 17th in scoring. His field goal shooting was the second-best among back court players in the Pac-12.
Wright was recently selected to the 2019-20 Preseason All-Pac-12 First Team voted on by members of the media. He is Colorado's active career leader in points (910) and assists (342) and enters the season ninth in career assists and 41st in points, well on pace to become the 35th player in history to reach the 1,000-point plateau.
New to the award this season is Fan Voting presented by Dell Technologies in each of the three rounds. By mid-February, the watch list of 20 players for the 2020 Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year Award will be narrowed to just 10. In March, five finalists will be presented to Mr. Cousy and the Hall of Fame's selection committee. The winner of the 2020 Bob Cousy Award will be presented at The College Basketball Awards presented by Wendy's in Los Angeles, Calif., on Friday, April 10, 2020, along with the other four members of the Men's Starting Five.
"Since 2004, the Hall of Fame has had the honor of bestowing the Bob Cousy Award on the best point guards in the collegiate game, forming an amazing list of award winners who have gone on to have tremendous success at the professional level," said John L. Doleva, President and CEO of the Basketball Hall of Fame. "This year, we are excited to announce Starting Five Fan Voting presented by Dell Technologies, which will allow fans to voice their opinions and support their favorite players in each of the three rounds. We greatly appreciate the support of Dell Technologies, the fans, our selection committee and the namesake of the award, Mr. Bob Cousy."
Cousy played for Holy Cross from 1946-1950 winning an NCAA Championship in 1947. He was named a Consensus First-Team All-American in 1950. His success continued at the professional level as a six-time NBA Champion (1957, 1959-1963), NBA Most Valuable Player (1957) and 13-time NBA All-Star (1951-63). In 1996, he was named a member of the NBA's 50th Anniversary All-Time Team.
Additional awards being presented and receiving support from Eaton Ephesus Lighting 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. Broadcast information will be released by ESPN at a later date.
Previous winners of the Bob Cousy Award include 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 2020 Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year Award and the latest updates, log onto www.hoophallawards.com and follow @hoophall on Twitter and Instagram. Starting Five Fan Voting presented by Dell Technologies will go live on Friday, October 18.
2020 Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year Award Candidates*
| Remy Martin | ^Arizona State |
| McKinley Wright IV | Colorado |
| Tre Jones | Duke |
| Andrew Nembhard | Florida |
| Trent Forrest | Florida St. |
| Bryce Aiken | Harvard |
| Ayo Dosunmu | Illinois |
| Devon Dotson | ^Kansas |
| Ashton Hagans | Kentucky |
| Markus Howard | Marquette |
| Anthony Cowan | Maryland |
| Zavier Simpson | Michigan |
| Cassius Winston | Michigan State |
| Cole Anthony | North Carolina |
| Payton Pritchard | ^Oregon |
| Jordan Ford | Saint Mary's |
| Lamonte' Turner | Tennessee |
| Davide Moretti | Texas Tech |
| Marcus Evans | VCU |
| Kihei Clark | Virginia |
*Players can play their way onto and off of the list at any point in the 2019-20 season*
^Colorado opponent in 2019-20
Players Mentioned
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