Murray State’s Cameron Payne was named to the watch list of candidates for the 2015 Bob Cousy Collegiate Point Guard of the Year Award. The annual honor, named for Hall of Famer and former Boston Celtic Bob Cousy, recognizes the top point guards in men’s college basketball.
The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced the watch list that includes 35 of the best point guards in the country from their office in Springfield, Mass.
Payne, a sophomore from Memphis, Tennessee, was the Ohio Valley Conference Freshman of the Year in March and in October was named the league’s Preseason Player of the Year, the first time since voting began in 1993 that a sophomore has been named.
Payne burst on the scene last season to lead the Racers in scoring with 16.8 points per game and was 33rd in the nation and the fourth rated freshman with 5.4 assists per game. He was just the second freshman in MSU history to score 500 points in a season. Payne was the MVP of the CollegeInsider.Com Tournament as he helped the Racers win the championship. He was named the SBNation.com Mid-Major Freshman of the Year and was a finalist for the CollegeInsider.com Kyle Macy National Freshman of the Year award.
Payne follows former Isaiah Canaan who was a Cousy top-11 pick in 2012 and was on the 2013 watch list. Canaan now plays in the NBA with the Houston Rockets.
The Cousy watch list will be narrowed to a final 20 in early February, then to a final five by early March. The winner will be honored on Monday of the Final Four weekend in Indianapolis.
Payne and the Racers open the season Thursday at 7 p.m. in an exhibition game against Freed-Hardeman at the CFSB Center in Murray, Kentucky. The season opener (Nov. 14) is against the Houston Cougars at 7 p.m. also at the CFSB Center.
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2014 Cousy Award Watch List
Olivier Hanlan – Boston College
Quinn Cook – Duke
Tyus Jones – Duke
D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera – Georgetown
Kevin Pangos – Gonzaga
Siyani Chambers – Harvard
Yogi Ferrell – Indiana
Monte Morris – Iowa State
Kenneth Smith – Louisiana Tech
Cameron Payne – Murray State
Chasson Randle – Stanford
Will Cummings – Temple
Alex Caruso – Texas A&M
T.J. McConnell – Arizona
Ryan Boatright – Connecticut
Kasey Hill – Florida
Andrew Harrison – Kentucky
Tyler Ulis – Kentucky
Terry Rozier – Louisville
Romelo Trimble – Maryland
Angel Rodriguez – Miami
Derrick Walton Jr. – Michigan
Jarvis Summers – Mississippi
Marcus Paige – North Carolina
Pierria Henry – Charlotte
Jordan Woodward – Oklahoma
EC Matthews – Rhode Island
Isaiah Taylor – Texas
Julius Brown University of Toledo
Delon Wright University of Utah
London Perrantes – Virginia
Keifer Sykes – Green Bay
Ryan Arcidiacono -Villanova
Briante Weber – Virginia Commonwealth
Juwan Staten – West Virginia
Fred VanVleet – Wichita State
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