Thomas nominated as top point guard

Isaiah Thomas is one of 66 players nominated for the annual Bob Cousy Award, honoring the nation’s top point guard.

The 5-9 junior for the Washington Huskies is not really the team’s point guard, however. Sophomore Abdul Gaddy serves as the team’s point, although Thomas often runs the offense.

“The Hall of Fame is proud to once again work with Mr. Cousy and to present one of college basketball’s most coveted awards,” said John L. Doleva, President and CEO of the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass. “This list represents a wide range of college basketball’s top players and we look forward to honoring the legacy of Mr. Cousy with this year’s award winner.”

Cousy, a member of the Hall of Fame, played 13 seasons for the Boston Celtics, was a 13-time All-Star, won six NBA championships and was the league MVP in 1957.

Thomas was a first-team all-Pac-10 player as a sophomore and was the conference’s 2009 Freshman of the Year. He is averaging a team-best 15.0 points per game and 3.9 assists. Thomas is currently ranked 22nd all-time on the UW scoring list with 1,284 career points.

Other prominent candidates include: BYU’s Jimmer Fredette, Kentucky’s Brandon Knight, Michigan State’s Kalin Lucas, Connecticut’s Kemba Walker, Kansas’ Tyshawn Taylor and two Duke guards, Kyrie Irving and Nolan Smith.

This original list of candidates will be narrowed down to a final 20 by Jan. 3. It will then be reduced to 10 by Feb. 3 and the top five on March 3. A Blue Ribbon Selection Committee will evaluate evaluate the final five candidates and will pick the winner.

The winner will be presented at the Hall of Fame’s Class Announcement on Monday April 4th in Houston as part of NCAA Final Four weekend.

The only other candidate from the Pac-10 nominated for the award is Reggie Moore of Washington State.

Past winners 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) and Greivis Vasquez (Maryland).