Basketball Hall of Fame announces five finalists for 2022 Bob Cousy Award

The Basketball Hall of Fame on Monday released the five finalists for the 2022 Bob Cousy Award, given annually to the nation’s top point guard: Baylor’s James Akinjo, Gonzaga’s Andrew Nembhard, Kentucky’s Sahvir Wheeler, UCLA’s Tyger Campbell and Villanova’s Collin Gillespie.

Akinjo, a native of Richmond, CA, was a four-star recruit coming out of high school, according to the On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. The 6-foot-1 senior has led Baylor to a 24-5 record, while averaging 12.0 points, 2.4 rebounds and 5.7 assists per contest.

Nembhard is also a senior and is averaging 11.3 points, 3.3 rebounds and 5.5 assists per contest, all while helping Gonzaga amass a 24-3 record and spend the majority of the season as the No. 1-ranked team in the AP Top 25 poll. A native of Canada, Nembhard was a four-star recruit according to the On3 Consensus.

Although Wheeler has dealt with his fair share of injuries for Kentucky, he’s been extremely effective for the Wildcats, averaging 9.8 points, 2.2 rebounds and 7.0 assists per game. Wheeler, a native of Houston, TX, is listed at just 5-foot-9, 180 pounds, but he’s looked the part of a top point guard this season.

Campbell is a returning piece from UCLA’s Cinderella team from the 2021 NCAA Tournament, as the unlikely play-in team made it all the way to the Final Four, and he’s once again led the Bruins to success in 2022. Like Wheeler, Campbell may be a bit undersized at 5-foot-11, but he’s been terrific in averaging 12.0 points, 2.6 rebounds and 4.3 assists per contest.

Lastly, Gillespie opted to return to Villanova for a fifth-year, using his extra eligibility from COVID-19, despite having a tremendous four-year career as is; unsurprisingly, Gillespie has turned in another excellent campaign for Villanova after returning. He’s averaging 16.6 points per contest, along with 3.9 rebounds and 3.0 assists.

Sahvir Wheeler reveals importance of returns at this point of the season

Kentucky starting guards Sahvir Wheeler and TyTy Washington made their returns from injury on Saturday during a 75-73 loss against Arkansas on the road. Despite the loss, getting two key players back into the lineup with a week left in the regular season should serve as a win in its own right.

During the postgame press conference, Wheeler talked about making a return to the Kentucky lineup and how important it can be to shake off the inactivity after injury

“I feel like TyTy and I had some of that rust when we first got into the game, especially the first half,” said Wheeler. “But after that, I think our play and our energy picked up in the second half, just getting into a rhythm and it was back to normal. We made a run, we got the lead and it was kind of back and forth throughout the whole game.”

Although they came off the bench, Wheeler and Washington played 29 and 35 minutes respectively. Wheeler scored 14 points with five assists, while Washington added 10 points with three assists.