The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame released its watch list for the 2015 Bob Cousy Collegiate Point Guard of the Year Award on Tuesday, tabbing 36 players including junior Yogi Ferrell of Indiana, sophomore Derrick Walton Jr. of Michigan and freshman Melo Trimble of Maryland.  Michigan’s Trey Burke was the last Big Ten player to win the award, doing so after leading the Wolverines to a runner-up finish in the 2012-13 season. Prior to Burke, Illinois’ Dee Brown last nabbed the honor In the 2005-06 campaign. A list of 20 Cousy Award finalists will be released in early February, and that will be trimmed down to five lucky players in early March. The 2015 winner will be announced during Final Four week.

Derrick Walton will see an increased role in Michigan’s offense in 2014-15.

As a sophomore, Ferrell led the Big Ten in three-pointers made per game (2.8) and was sixth in the Big Ten in assists per contest (3.9). On a roster that features no seniors, Ferrell’s effectiveness as a leader will be tested early and often, especially after the Hoosiers’ horrific offseason. Sophomore Devin Davis remains in the hospital after getting hit by a vehicle driven by freshman Emmit Holt, and sophomores Troy Williams and Stanford Robinson were suspended for failing drug tests. If Ferrell can handle the pressure and successfully guide Indiana through a tough non-conference slate that includes SMU, Pitt, Louisville, Butler and Georgetown, he can showcase himself as an early favorite to be named as a Cousy finalist in February.

Walton was named to the Big Ten’s All-Freshman team last year after he started all but one game for the Wolverines. With one year under his belt, he should have a better grasp of John Beilein’s offense and will likely improve upon his 7.9 PPG average from last year. Walton’s role will certainly be increased due to the departures of scoring-machine Nik Stauskas, Glenn Robinson III and Mitch McGary. He will share some minutes at point with junior Spike Albrecht, but expect the sophomore to trail only Caris LeVert in minutes played this season.

Trimble, the crown jewel of Maryland head coach Mark Turgeon’s latest recruiting class, has already made waves after recently leading the Terrapins in scoring with 19 points in an exhibition game against San Francisco State. Ranked as a four-star recruit by Rivals.com, Trimble will see action at the point guard position from the get-go. Senior Dez Wells will lead Trimble and fellow freshmen Jared Nickens and Dion Wiley in one of the Big Ten’s most interesting backcourts – but the success of the Terps’ season may very well rest on how well Trimble can handle Maryland’s point guard duties during a brutal Big Ten schedule.

Illinois senior Tracy Abrams likely would have been named to the Cousy Award watch list had he not torn his ACL in September. Abrams tallied 112 assists in the 2013-14  season and averaged 10.7 points per game, second on the team behind Rayvonte Rice.

Eric Clark (30 Posts)

This entry was posted on Thursday, November 6th, 2014 at 11:31 am by Eric Clark and is filed under big ten, microsites. Tagged: cousy award, derrick walton, indiana, maryland, Melo Trimble, michigan, yogi ferrell. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.