MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin point guard Jordan Taylor ranks among the best point guards in the country for the second year in a row. Taylor was selected as one of 11 finalists for the 2012 Bob Cousy Collegiate Point Guard of the Year Award, which was announced on Thursday by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
The annual honor is named for Hall of Famer and former Boston Celtics player Bob Cousy and recognizes the top point guards in college basketball. The original list this season contained more than 60 candidates and has since been trimmed by a nationally-based committee down to 20 and now 11 players.
Taylor, one of five finalists for the 2011 Cousy Award, leads Wisconsin in points (14.1) and assists (4.3). He also averages 4.2 rebounds and 1.0 steals per game. Taylor ranks among the national leaders in assist-to-turnover ratio at 3.09.
The other finalists this year are: Murray State's Isaiah Canaan, Ohio State's Aaron Craft, Saint Mary's' Matthew Dellavedova, Baylor's Pierre Jackson, Syracuse's Scoop Jardine, Weber State's Damian Lillard, Iona's Scott Machado, North Carolina's Kendall Marshall, Missouri's Phil Pressey and Long Beach State's Casper Ware.
"It's cool," Taylor said on Thursday. "It's an honor to be listed among those other guys. I don't know who's on the list this year other than Craft. But either way, it's an honor."
The list of finalists for the Bob Cousy Award will be narrowed down to five players on March 8. The winner will be named on Monday, April 2 in New Orleans as part of the NCAA Final Four weekend.
Previous winners of the Bob Cousy Award have included Jameer Nelson (St. Joseph's), Raymond Felton (North Carolina), Dee Brown (Illinois), Acie Law (Texas A&M), DJ Augustin (Texas), Ty Lawson (North Carolina), Greivis Vasquez (Maryland) and Kemba Walker (Connecticut).
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