McCallum, Payne, Perry & Sykes Among Cousy Award Nominees

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Detroit’s Ray McCallum, Loyola’s Cully Payne, Youngstown State’s Kendrick Perry and Keifer Sykes of Green Bay were among the candidates named for the 2013 Bob Cousy Collegiate Point Guard of the Year, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced today.

The annual honor, named for Hall of Famer and former Boston Celtic Bob Cousy, recognizes the top point guards in men’s college basketball. Over 80 candidates have been nominated for the 2013 Bob Cousy Award.

McCallum was nominated for the second straight year, as the junior was one of the final 20 candidates for the award in his sophomore season. Both Payne and Perry were nominated for the first time in their careers.

This season, McCallum leads the Horizon League in scoring with an 18.5 points-per-game average, while his 4.8 assists per game rank second to UIC’s Gary Talton. In two-plus years with the Titans, McCallum has scored 1,2He has amassed 1,223 career points, good for 23^rd on the Titan all-time list, and 362 career assists which place him in the ninth position all-time in career assists at Detroit.

Through the first 10 games of 2012-13 Payne has lived up his billing as a quality point guard, averaging 7.2 points, 2.1 rebounds, and 4.7 assists per game, while also giving second-year Loyola head coach Porter Moser a capable floor leader. The 6-foot-1 junior, who was a Freshman All-Big Ten selection by Sporting News in 2009-10, has scored in double digits on a pair of occasions this season and the Ramblers are 6-1 when he scores six or more points.

Over his last four appearances, Payne has doled out 19 assists and committed just four turnovers, and for the season he owns a 2.4 assist-to-turnover ratio.

Perry leads the Penguins with 16.2 points and 4.4 assists per game. For his career, Perry is averaging 13.4 points and 4.04 assists per game.

He ranks seventh all-time with 291 assists and needs just nine more to become the seventh player in Youngstown State history to record at least 300 assists. The 2011-12 Horizon League leader in scoring, Perry is 32 points shy of reaching 1,000 for his career.

Sykes has scored in double figures in 25 of his last 28 games, including a 20-point performance in Green Bay's 49-47 win over a Marquette squad receiving votes in the Associated Press poll. The sophomore leads Green Bay in both scoring and assists with 16.7 ppg and 3.3 apg. Sykes ranks second behind McCallum in scoring, placing ninth in assists and seventh in free-throw percentage.

“The Hall of Fame is proud to continue its mission with Mr. Cousy to celebrate and honor the top collegiate point guards in the country,” said John L. Doleva, President and CEO of the Basketball Hall of Fame. “This list represents a large range of college basketball’s top student-athletes from across the country. We are excited to recognize these players for their continuous hard work and dedication.”

 “The Bob Cousy Award promotes the values of leadership, determination, and teamwork, all skills needed on the basketball court and in life,” said Ken Kaufman, Chair of the Bob Cousy Award and former president of the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC). “Mr. Cousy exemplified all of these traits, and inspired so many people on and off the court. We hope that this coveted award continues to honor his legacy.”

This watch list of candidates will be narrowed down to a final 20 around January 1st, final 10 near February 1st, and final five by approximately March 1st. A premier Selection Committee has been appointed by the Hall of Fame to review the final five candidates in contention for the nation’s top collegiate point guard award. These Hall of Fame committees are made up of top college basketball personnel including media members, head coaches, Sports Information Directors and Hall of Famers. The winner of the 2013 Bob Cousy Award will be presented at the Hall of Fame’s Class Announcement on Championship Monday in Atlanta as part of 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), Kemba Walker (Connecticut)and last year’s recipient Kendall Marshall (North Carolina). For more information on the 2013Bob Cousy, log onto www.CousyAward.com.

2013 Bob Cousy Award Candidates
Jahii Carson, Arizona State University
Pierre Jackson, Baylor University
Kerron Johnson, Belmont University
Rotnei Clarke, Butler University
Kwame Vaughn, Cal State Fullerton
Trey Freeman, Campbell University
Andrew Lawrence, College of Charleston
Brian Barbour, Columbia University
JP Kuhlman, Davidson College
Frantz Massenat, Drexel University
Quinn Cook, Duke University
Miguel Paul, East Carolina University
Derek Needham, Fairfield University
Montay Brandon, Florida State University
Devonta White, Georgia State University
Kevin Pangos, Gonzaga University
Siyani Chambers, Harvard University
Jordan Hulls, Indiana University
Jake Odum, Indiana State University
Korie Lucious, Iowa State University
Devon Moore, James Madison University
Tyreek Duren, La Salle University
C.J. McCollum, Lehigh University
Mackey McKnight, Lehigh University
Anthony Ireland, Loyola Marymount University
Cully Payne, Loyola University Chicago
Michael Alvarado, Manhattan College
Keith Appling, Michigan State University
Isaiah Canaan, Murray State University
Lorenzo Brown, NC State University
Juan'ya Green, Niagara University
Stallon Saldivar, Northern Arizona University
Aaron Craft, Ohio State University
D.J. Cooper, Ohio University
Marcus Smart, Oklahoma State University
Ahmad Starks, Oregon State University
Dylan Garrity, Sacramento State
Kwamain Mitchell, Saint Louis University
Mike McCall Jr., Saint Louis University
Xavier Thames, San Diego State
Evan Roquemore, Santa Clara University
Nate Wolters, South Dakota State University
Neil Watson, Southern Mississippi
Matthew Dellavedova, St. Mary's College
Chasson Randle, Stanford University
Anthony Jackson, Stony Brook University
Michael Carter-Williams, Syracuse University
Kyan Anderson, TCU
Johnathan Jordan, Texas A&M - Corpus Christi
Ricky Tarrant, Tulane University
Anthony Marshall, UNLV
Trevor Releford, University of Alabama
Mark Lyons, University of Arizona
BJ Young, University of Arkansas
Justin Cobbs, University of California
Spencer Dinwiddie, University of Colorado
Shabazz Napier, University of Connecticut
Kevin Dillard, University of Dayton
Ray McCallum, University of Detroit Mercy
Troy Taylor, University of Evansville
Kenny Boynton, University of Florida
Scottie Wilbekin, University of Florida
Elijah Johnson, University of Kansas
Peyton Siva, University of Louisville
Pe’Shon Howard, University of Maryland
Chaz Williams, University of Massachusetts
Shane Larkin, University of Miami
Trey Burke, University of Michigan
Andre Hollins, University of Minnesota
Phil Pressey, University of Missouri
Deonte Burton, University of Nevada
Hugh Greenwood, University of New Mexico
Kendall Williams, University of New Mexico
Dexter Strickland, University of North Carolina
Eric Atkins, University of Notre Dame
Tray Woodall, University of Pittsburgh
Bruce Ellington, University of South Carolina
LaShay Page, University of South Carolina
Anthony Collins, University of South Florida
Trae Golden, University of Tennessee
Abdul Gaddy, University of Washington
Erick Green, Virginia Tech University
Trey Sumler, Western Carolina University
Malcolm Armstead, Wichita State University
Kendrick Perry, Youngstown State University