For the second straight year, Sun Devils star point guard Remy Martin is among 20 watch list members for the Bob Cousy Award.
Martin comes off of a strong junior campaign, where he averaged 19.1 points and 4.1 assists. Martin was second in the Pac-12 in scoring, second only to 2020 Bob Cousy Award winner Payton Pritchard of Oregon.
The Sun Devils made the NCAA Tournament in each of Martin's first two seasons and were slated to make a third straight appearance in 2020, before the Pac-12 and NCAA Tournaments were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Martin brings in a stronger supporting cast this season after the Sun Devils landed five-star recruit Josh Christopher, four-star recruit Marcus Bagley and transfer Holland Woods and Pac-12 Sixth Man of the Year Alonzo Verge Jr. and sophomore F Jalen Graham are expected to step into bigger roles after the departures of Romello White and Rob Edwards.
Martin will also have the benefit of being on a national spotlight, as the Sun Devils are expected to be in the preseason top 25 on the Associated Press Poll for the second time in past 29 years.
Sun Devils fans are more than excited to see Martin back for one more year after he withdrew from the NBA draft, and coach Bobby Hurley feels great about the shape Remy is in.
"Remy was training in Vegas," Hurley said. "He had a situation that he felt very comfortable with, he's put on about 10 pounds, and [he's] gotten stronger, and you'll see that when he's out on the floor."
The Bob Cousy award is as big of a deal as Cousy was as a player. Cousy was elected to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 1971 and was an NCAA champion (1947), six-time NBA champion (1957-63), NBA MVP (1957), and a 13-time NBA All-Star. This will be the 18th year that the award has been presented with several notable NBA players winning the award:
NBA NOTABLES AS WINNER OF BOB COUSY AWARD
Payton Pritchard, Oregon (2020)
Ja Morant, Murray State (2019)
Jalen Brunson, Villanova (2018)
Trey Burke, Michigan (2013)
Kemba Walker, Connecticut (2011)
Ty Lawson, North Carolina (2009)
DJ Augustin, Texas (2008)
Raymond Felton, North Carolina (2005)
Jameer Nelson, St. Joseph's (2004)
Last year, the committee implemented a new fan voting system.
"This year, we are excited to announce Starting Five Fan Voting presented by Dell Technologies, which will allow fans to voice their opinions and support their favorite players in each of the three rounds," said John L. Doleva, President and CEO of the Basketball Hall of Fame. "We greatly appreciate the support of Dell Technologies, the fans, our selection committee and the namesake of the award, Mr. Bob Cousy."
Fan Voting, presented by Dell Technologies, will open up on Friday, Nov. 6 for Sun Devil fans to vote for Martin in each of the three rounds. The list will be narrowed down to 10 in mid-February and then 5 finalists will be selected in March and presented to Bob Cousy and the selection committee.
The winner of this award will be presented on April 9, 2021.
Full article: https://thesundevils.com/news/2020/11/2/mens-basketball-remy-martin-on-bob-cousy-early-watch-list.aspx