Most teams are not fortunate enough to get one player on the preseason watch list for the Bob Cousy Award, which is given annually to the nations top point guard. Very few freshmen get consideration for the esteemed honor. Yet, the Kentucky Wildcats basketball team find themselves with two players on the watch list and one of them has not even played a regular saeason game yet.
"Andrew Harrison and Tyler Ulis are among 36 players on the watch list for the Bob Cousy Award, given annually by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame to the top point guard in the country. The watch list of candidates will be narrowed down to a final 20 in early February, then final five by early March. A selection committee has been appointed by the Hall of Fame to review the candidates in contention for the nation’s top point guard. The committee is made up of top college basketball personnel, including members of the media, head coaches, media relations contacts and Hall of Famers. The Cousy Award winner will be presented the award on the day of the national championship in Indianapolis."
Mandatory Credit: Mark Zerof-USA TODAY Sports
At the other end of the spectrum, Willie Cauley-Stein is getting recognized for his defense and was named to the CBS Sports All Defensive team. Sam Vecine heaps big praise on the Kentucky Wildcats junior and here is what he had to say.
"For my money, Cauley-Stein is the most complete big defender in the NCAA. Yeah, he takes the occassional play off, but when he’s engaged it’s just about impossible to score on him. As a legitimate 7-footer with the quickness of a wing, Cauley-Stein moves from one side of the paint to the other better than any other player in college basketball. His 12.3 percent block rate was good enough to tie him for 11th in the country last season, and he affects countless other shots simply through his activity. However, where Cauley-Stein sets himself apart is on the perimeter, where he can switch out onto guards with ease and defend them in short spurts until the rest of the defense recovers. He’s also a better post defender than the other forward mentioned on this team, and can move players off the block from time to time. The only problem that Cauley-Stein has is as a defensive rebounder, where his 17 percent rebounding rate is a little bit low for an elite player. Still, Cauley-Stein is nearly a perfect athletic defender."
. Mandatory Credit: Mark Zerof-USA TODAY Sports
It’s one thing for human voters to pick the Kentucky Wildcats to do well. But when you apply science and stats to it, that is a different thing. Those folks over at Sports Illustrated have broken down the SEC season and picked Kentucky to win the conference with a 15-3 record. The individual Kentucky Wildcats dominate the awards and the SI piece goes a bit further and projects the stats for the year. Check it out.
"The Wildcats are SEC favorites behind what might be one of the best frontcourts in college hoops history. Junior Willie Cauley-Stein (6.8 points, 6.1 rebounds per game in 2013) headlines three seven-footers making up Kentucky’s front line. But it wouldn’t be Big Blue Nation without a stacked freshman class. Expect five-star newcomers like center Karl Towns Jr. and guard Trey Lyles to make an impact for John Calipari’s squad."