SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced today that UConn senior Shabazz Napier (Roxbury, Mass.) is the winner of the 2014 Bob Cousy Collegiate Point Guard of the Year Award. This annual honor is given to college basketball’s top point guard and is named after Hall of Famer and former Boston Celtics guard Bob Cousy.
An original list, consisting of 47 candidates from around the country, was trimmed by a Hall of Fame-appointed, nationally-based committee to a final six before voting on the winner of one of college basketball’s most prestigious awards, which was won by Kemba Walker, Napier’s former UConn teammate, in 2011.
“The Basketball Hall of Fame is proud to honor Shabazz Napier as the top college point guard of 2014,” said John L. Doleva, President and CEO of the Basketball Hall of Fame. “Shabazz has proven himself a winner and has excelled tremendously this year with the Connecticut Huskies. He has demonstrated himself as a leader on the court and a deserving winner of this award.”
“It is an honor for us to award such a worthy athlete of this prestigious award,” said Bob Cousy. “Napier has fought hard in the NCAA Tournament and has stood out all throughout his college career as a dominant force in the game and a remarkable point guard.”
Napier was the 2013-14 American Athletic Conference Player of the Year and a unanimous all-conference first team pick. He was named a first team All-American by the Associated Press, the U.S. Basketball Writers Association and the National Association of Basketball Coaches. Napier is a John R. Wooden All-American, the USBWA District I Player of the Year for the second straight season and a member of the District I first team as well as NABC District 5 first-team pick. He was named the Most Outstanding Player in the 2014 East Regional NCAA Tournament.
He leads the 31-8 Huskies in scoring (17.9), assists (4.9), and steals (1.8), and is second in rebounding (5.8) as UConn goes after the NCAA national championship tonight against Kentucky at AT&T Stadium.
“We are proud and honored that Shabazz has been named to receive the Bob Cousy Award and we obviously think it is well-deserved,” said UConn head coach Kevin Ollie. “Shabazz has led our team in numerous statistical categories all season and has been a most valuable part of our success. But just as important, he has been an outstanding senior leader, setting an example for our players off the court. We are extremely happy for him.”
The other 2014 finalists included Kyle Anderson (UCLA), Aaron Craft (Ohio State University), Tyler Ennis (Syracuse University), Marcus Paige (University of North Carolina) and Fred VanVleet (Wichita State University).
Each of the final six candidates was reviewed by the Hall of Fame’s Blue Ribbon Selection Committee. The 2014 Bob Cousy Award presentation will be Monday, April 7, as part of the Basketball Hall of Fame class announcement in Dallas at the Final Four.
Previous Winners of the Bob Cousy Award
2005 – Raymond Felton (North Carolina)
2006 – Dee Brown (Illinois)
2007 – Acie Law (Texas A&M)
2008 – D.J. Augustin (Texas)
2009 – Ty Lawson (North Carolina)
2010 – Greivis Vasquez (Maryland)
2011 – Kemba Walker (Connecticut)
2012 – Kendall Marshall (North Carolina)
2013 – Trey Burke (Michigan)
2014 – Shabazz Napier (Connecticut)
