No. 19/19 Men’s Basketball’s Pope named to Bob Cousy Award preseason watch list

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — University of Texas Men's Basketball junior Jordan Pope is one of 20 preseason watch list candidates for the Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year Award, the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame announced Monday. Named after Class of 1971 Hall of Famer and former Boston Celtics and Holy Cross guard Bob Cousy, the annual honor now in its 22nd year recognizes the top point guard in Division I men's college basketball.

The list will be narrowed down to 10 players in early February, with plans to announce the five finalists in early March. The award winner and presentation details will be revealed at the Final Four in San Antonio. The list will remain fluid, and players will have the ability to play themselves on or off the list until the five finalists are selected. Former Longhorn D.J. Augustin won the Bob Cousy Award in 2008.

Fans are encouraged to participate in Fan Voting, presented by Dell Technologies, in each of the three rounds starting today.

Pope has played in 64 career games (63 starts) during the previous two years at Oregon State (2022-24). He has career totals of 965 points (15.1 ppg), 183 assists (2.9 apg) and 165 rebounds (2.6 rpg) in 2,214 minutes (34.6 mpg). Pope has converted 43.9-percent (342-779) from the floor, including a 37.4-percent mark (126-337) from three-point range, and 86.1-percent (155-180) from the free throw line in his career. He has reached double figures in scoring 54 times in his career, including thirteen 20-point efforts and two 30-point performances.

As a sophomore in 2023-24, Pope earned All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention accolades while leading his team in scoring (17.6 ppg), assists (109, 3.4 apg) and minutes (35.7 mpg). He converted 45.1-percent (201-446) from the floor, including a 37.1-percent (66-178) mark from three-point range, and 87.9-percent (94-107) from the free throw line. He finished the season as the fourth-highest scoring sophomore in Oregon State program history with 562 points. Pope reached double figures in scoring in 31 of 32 contests, including twelve 20-point performances and a pair of 30-point efforts. He was named the ESPN and Naismith National Player of the Week and Pac-12 Player of the Week (Jan. 29) for his efforts during the wins over Arizona (Jan. 25) and Arizona State (Jan. 27). Pope averaged 25.0 ppg and 5.5 apg while hitting 60.7-percent from the floor in those two contests.

Pope garnered Pac-12 All-Freshman Team honors in 2022-23 as he played in all 32 games (31 starts) and led Oregon State in scoring (12.6 ppg), assists (74, 2.3 apg) and minutes (33.6 mpg). He set the school freshman record for three-point field goals made (60) and tied the Oregon State freshman scoring record (403 points).

No. 19/19 Texas opens the 2024-25 season with a neutral-site contest against Ohio State on Monday, Nov. 4 as part of the Hall of Fame Series Las Vegas Opening Night event. Tip is slated for approximately 9 p.m. Central (7 p.m. Pacific) at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, and the game will be televised nationally by TNT and truTV and streamed by Max. The Longhorns will play their home opener against Houston Christian presented by Truist on Friday, Nov. 8. Tipoff for the home opener is set for 7 p.m. Central in Moody Center, and the contest will be streamed by SEC Network+.

For more information on the Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year Award and the latest updates, visit www.hoophallawards.com and follow @hoophallu and #CousyAward on Twitter and Instagram.

2025 Bob Cousy Award Preseason Watch List

Player	School
Mark Sears	Alabama
Jeremy Roach	Baylor
Tyrese Proctor	Duke
Walter Clayton Jr.	Florida
Malik Mack	Georgetown
Ryan Nembhard	Gonzaga
Myles Rice	Indiana
Tamin Lipsey	Iowa State
Dajuan Harris	Kansas
Josh Hubbard	Mississippi State
Elliot Cadeau	North Carolina
Markus Burton	Notre Dame
Bruce Thornton	Ohio State
Ace Baldwin Jr.	Penn State
Braden Smith	Purdue
Dylan Harper	Rutgers
Zakai Zeigler	Tennessee
Jordan Pope	TEXAS
Wade Taylor IV	Texas A&M
Elijah Hawkins	Texas Tech

The University of Texas at Austin Athletics

No. 19/19 Men’s Basketball’s Pope named to Bob Cousy Award preseason watch list

Players Mentioned

Jordan Pope