Bob Cousy Award Watch List 2016: Full List Released

Marcus Paige, Yogi Ferrell and Fred VanVleet are among the stars listed on the 2015-16 preseason watch list for the Bob Cousy Award, which was announced Tuesday. The honor is given out annually to the top point guard in college basketball.  

The initial 20-player list for the award, which is presented by the College of the Holy Cross, includes stars from both traditional powers and smaller schools. There are guards from North Carolina and Indiana as well as Stony Brook and Hofstra.

Here's the complete list, per Jeff Borzello of ESPN.com:

Player	School
Kyle Collinsworth	BYU
Tyrone Wallace	California
Maodo Lo	Columbia
Xavier Rathan-Mayes	Florida State
D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera	Georgetown
Juan'ya Green	Hofstra
Yogi Ferrell	Indiana
Monte Morris	Iowa State
Frank Mason	Kansas
Tyler Ulis	Kentucky
Melo Trimble	Maryland
Marcus Paige	North Carolina
Demetrius Jackson	Notre Dame
Gary Payton Jr.	Oregon State
Kris Dunn	Providence
Carson Puriefoy	Stony Brook
Jalen Brunson	Villanova
Ryan Arcidiacono	Villanova
Fred VanVleet	Wichita State
Bronson Koenig	Wisconsin

The Tar Heels will lean heavily on Paige in his senior season to lead the offense. His scoring average dropped more than three points per game as a junior, but he talked after last season ended about the motivation being a senior would provide, as noted by Andrew Carter of the News and Observer: "I really enjoy being here and being a part of this program. And now I only have one more chance, so I'm going to try to use that as fuel. I can't tell you how much it means to be a part of this place and I only get one more year and it goes so fast."

He'll face no shortage of competition in the Cousy Award chase, though.

Ferrell should be ready to take a leap forward after two solid years with Indiana. He made noticeable strides as a distributor last season, increasing his assist average to nearly five per game. He remains one of the position's most dangerous scoring threats (16.3 PPG, 42 percent from three-point range).

It also helps that he's got a lot of talent around him, as Andy Wittry of WIUX noted:

VanVleet has made steady progress across three campaigns at Wichita State. Last season, he showcased his all-around ability by averaging 13.6 points, 5.2 assists and 4.5 rebounds. Like Paige and Ferrell, he'll be an integral factor if his team is going to have success this season.

One other item of note is Villanova having two players on the watch list for one position. Ryan Arcidiacono is coming off of a solid year (10.1 PPG and 3.6 APG), but the arrival of Jalen Brunson, a 5-star prospect, per 247Sports' composite rankings, likely means split duties running the uptempo offense.

All told, college basketball features a stacked group of point guards this season. That should make the race for the Cousy Award among the most intriguing battles in the months ahead.