Washington point guard Isaiah Thomas has earned his way into yet another top 10 list.
The 5-foot-9 junior was selected Monday as one of 10 finalists nationally for the Bob Cousy Award. The award is given out annually to the nation’s top collegiate point guard and is named after Hall of Famer and former Boston Celtic great Bob Cousy.
Through 22 games, Thomas is averaging a team-high 16.5 points and 5.8 assists per game. He leads the Pac-10 Conference with 7.6 assists per game in conference play.
Saturday, Thomas entered Washington’s top 10 career scoring list. He’s now 10th with 1,497 points. Thomas already was on the school’s top 10 list in career steals and assists.
Thomas had to alter and enlarge his game since the Jan. 4 knee injury to regular point guard Abdul Gaddy. He has dished out at least five assists in 10 consecutive games, including back-to-back games with 13 and 10 at Cal and Arizona. He was just the second Husky with 10 or more assists in consecutive games and was the first NCAA player since Jose Juan Barea of Northeastern in 2006 with two consecutive games with at least 20 points and 10 assists.
His 16.5 points per game leads the team and is fourth in the Pac-10 Conference.
The original Cousy list was 70 players. It was paired down to 40, 30, 20 and now 10.
The other nine finalists are: Norris Cole, Cleveland State; Corey Fisher, Villanova; Jimmer Fredette, BYU; D.J. Gay, San Diego State; Brandon Knight, Kentucky; Demetri McCamey, Illinois; Mickey McConnell, St. Mary’s; Nolan Smith, Duke; and Kemba Walker, Connecticut.
Beginning tomorrow, fans can vote for the player of their choice at the Cousy web site, www.cousyaward.com. The player who receives the most votes will be given one vote toward the final committee vote.
The 10-candidate list will be reduced to five players by March 10. Those five candidates will be presented to Cousy and a selection committee made up of top college basketball personnel including media members, head coaches, sports information directors and Hall of Famers.
The winner of the 2011 Bob Cousy Award will be awarded on April 4 in Houston as part of NCAA Final Four weekend.
Past winners include: Jameer Nelson (St. Josephs), Raymond Felton (North Carolina), Dee Brown (Illinois), Acie Law (Texas A&M), D.J. Augustin (Texas), Ty Lawson (North Carolina) and Greivis Vasquez (Maryland).
