McConnell Named to Cousy Award Watch List

TUCSON, Ariz. – University of Arizona senior T.J. McConnell was one of 36 student-athletes named to the watch list for the Bob Cousy Collegiate Point Guard of the Year Award on Tuesday in an announcement by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

From an original watch list of more than 50 players, McConnell was among the final 20 candidates for the award in 2014. He is one of just three players from the Pac-12 on the watch list for the 2015 award, along with Chasson Randle of Stanford and Utah’s Delon Wright.

The floor general for a UA team ranked second in both major preseason polls, McConnell was a second-team All-Pac-12 selection in 2014 after averaging 8.4 points and team highs of 5.3 assists and 1.7 steals per game. His exploits on the defensive end of the floor also earned him a place on the Pac-12 All-Defensive Team.

McConnell was at the helm for a 2013-14 Arizona squad that set program records with a 1.48 assist-to-turnover ratio and an average of just 10.2 turnovers per game. McConnell’s individual ratio of 3.01 led the Pac-12 and ranked 13th nationally, while also ranking as the second-best single-season mark in program history behind only Steve Kerr’s 4.17 in 1987-88.

The Pittsburgh native handed out a total of 202 assists as a junior, becoming just the fifth player in UA history to record 200 or more in a single-season. His total of 202 ranks sixth on Arizona’s single-season chart. He will enter the 2014-15 season with 1,019 points and 513 assists for his college career, as well as a 2.53-career assist-to-turnover ratio.

The 2015 Cousy Award will be bestowed on Championship Monday in Indianapolis at the Hall of Fame’s Class of 2015 announcement and press conference. Previous winners of the award include Trey Burke, Ty Lawson, Shabazz Napier, Greivis Vasquez and Kemba Walker,

For the latest updates on Arizona men’s basketball and an inside look at the program, follow @APlayersProgram on Twitter and @uaplayersprogram on Instagram.