SPRINGFIELD, Mass. ? Alaska Anchorage senior Luke Cooper was named Friday as one of 16 finalists for the 2008 Bob Cousy Award, presented by The Hartford, honoring the top point guard in college basketball.
Cooper, who averages an NCAA Div. II-best 8.5 assists per game, is one of two D-II players, along with Rollins' Jonny Reibel, to make the finalist list. Two Div. III selections and 12 Div. I players comprise the rest of the remaining field, which was narrowed from an original group of 62.
Beginning today, college basketball fans nationwide will have the opportunity to vote for their favorite candidate online at www.cousyaward.com. The top vote-getter from the on-line poll will receive the “Fan Vote,” representing one vote to be cast by the Blue Ribbon committee selecting the Award winner. The committee is comprised of Hall of Famers including Cousy, Dean Smith and Jim Calhoun, as well as college coaches from Divisions I, II and III, members of the media and additional college basketball experts. The 2008 winner will be announced April 7 at the Final Four in San Antonio.
With 11 assists in Thursday night's win over No. 24 Seattle Pacific, Cooper increased his school and Great Northwest Athletic Conference career record to 740 assists. The Melbourne, Australia, native is now within 25 assists of 10th place on the NCAA Div. II all-time list.
For the season, Cooper also ranks among the top 10 in Division II in assist-to-turnover ratio (3.4-to-1). The 6-footer averages 5.7 points and a team-best 1.3 steals per game for the nationally 5th-ranked Seawolves (17-3), who are currently on a school-record 15-game winning streak. Playing a GNAC-high 35.6 minutes per contest, Cooper spearheads a UAA defense that is allowing just 58.3 points per game, third-best in Div. II.
Given annually since 2004 by the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame, the Cousy Award recognizes candidates who distinguish themselves on and off the court. They are evaluated on their ability to maximize their team's collective potential, their leadership, their core basketball skills ? passing, dribbling, and creating team offense ? and overall team achievement.
The award is named after former Holy Cross All-American and Boston Celtics Hall-of-Fame point guard Bob Cousy. Previous winners have been Texas A&M's Acie Law IV (2007), Illinois' Dee Brown (2006), North Carolina's Raymond Felton (2005) and St. Joseph's Jameer Nelson (2004).
2008 BOB COUSY AWARD FINALISTS
DIVISION I
DJ Augustin, Texas
Darren Collison, UCLA
Devan Downey, South Carolina
Jamont Gordon, Mississippi State
Mike Green, Butler
Dominic James, Marquette
Ty Lawson, North Carolina
Eric Maynor, VCU
Tyrese Rice, Boston College
Brian Roberts, Dayton
Derrick Rose, Memphis
Sean Singletary, Virginia
DIVISION II
Luke Cooper, Alaska Anchorage
Johnny Reibel, Rollins
DIVISION III
David Arsenault, Grinnell
Andrew Olson, Amherst
