SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame today announced that Trey Burke from the University of Michigan is the winner of the 2013 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 60-plus candidates from around the country, was trimmed by a Hall of Fame appointed, nationally based committee to 20, down to 10 and a final five before voting on the winner of one of college basketball’s most prestigious awards.
“The Hall of Fame is proud to present Trey Burke with one of college basketball’s most prestigious awards,” said John L. Doleva, President and CEO of the Basketball Hall of Fame. “Trey is a natural born leader, and an exciting player to watch. He has proven himself to be a winner, and demonstrates so many of the same characteristics that made Mr. Cousy great.”
“It is truly an honor to recognize Trey for his extraordinary efforts this season,“ said Ken Kaufman, Chairman of the Bob Cousy Award and former NABC President. “All year long he has shown tremendous poise, especially down the stretch of the NCAA Tournament. He has certainly shown the same type of leadership and determination that Bob Cousy displayed throughout his career.”
Burke, a sophomore, from Columbus, Ohio was named Big Ten Conference Men’s Basketball Player of the Year in 2013 and was a unanimous 2012-13 Big Ten first team selection. He finished the 18-game 2012-13 Big Ten Conference Men’s Basketball season schedule as the conference leader in both scoring average and assist average and finished second in steals per game. Burke became the seventh Wolverine sophomore to reach 1000 career points. He was also named Sports Illustrated National Player of the Year and Sports Illustrated All-American Team; he started all 35 games and helped Michigan go undefeated (13-0) in non-conference play for the first time since 1985-86. He is the only player in Big Ten history to score at least 15 points in every conference game in a season. As a freshman, he was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year.
“It’s an honor to have Trey Burke selected as the recipient of the Bob Cousy Award,” said Michigan head coach John Beilein “Trey has been the floor leader of our program, a terrific teammate and critical to our success. He epitomizes the selection criteria for this award and will represent the Cousy family with great pride and honor. Trey is a fantastic representative of our institution and will be a great ambassador for this award.”
The other 2013 finalists included Marcus Smart (Oklahoma State University), Matthew Dellavedova (Saint Mary’s College), Michael Carter-Williams (Syracuse University) and Shane Larkin (University of Miami).
Each of the final five candidates was reviewed by the Hall of Fame’s Blue Ribbon Selection Committee. The 2013 Bob Cousy Award presentation will be on Monday April 8 as part of the Basketball Hall of Fame Class Announcement in Atlanta at the Final Four.
Previous Winners of the Bob Cousy Award
2004 - Jameer Nelson (St. Joseph’s)
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)
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