Iowa State’s Tamin Lipsey named to Bob Cousy Award preseason watch list
Iowa State point guard Tamin Lipsey has been named to the Bob Cousy Award Preseason Watch List, the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame announced Monday.
Lipsey is one of 20 point guards in the country recognized as candidates for the award, which honors the top floor general in Division I men’s basketball.
Earlier this month, Lipsey was selected to the 10-member All-Big 12 Preseason Team. He has missed both of ISU’s exhibition games with an injury but is expected to return for the Cyclones’ season opener next week.
Now in its 23rd year, the Bob Cousy Award is named after the Class of 1971 Hall of Famer and former Boston Celtic and Holy Cross guard.
Lipsey earned All-Big 12 honors for the second straight season last year, landing on the third team and the league’s All-Defensive Team. He was also a semifinalist for the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Award and a finalist for the Nolan Richardson Award, given to the player who best embodies the heart and soul of a winning team.
The Ames native reached two career milestones last season. On Feb. 22, he broke Monté Morris’ school record for career steals with his 226th. Less than two weeks later, he became the 35th Cyclone to surpass 1,000 career points.
Lipsey is one of only 26 Division I men’s basketball players since 1947-48 to play at least 100 games while averaging at least 10.2 points, 4.2 assists, 3.7 rebounds and 2.3 steals per game. He averaged 10.6 points, 3.1 assists, 2.6 rebounds and 2.0 steals last season.
Fan voting for the Cousy Award begins Oct. 31. The list of 20 candidates will be narrowed to 10 in late January, five in late February and one winner in March. The winner will be selected by Cousy and the Hall of Fame’s selection committee, which includes media members, head coaches, sports information directors and Hall of Famers.
The Cousy Award is part of the Hall of Fame’s Men’s Starting Five, which also includes honors for shooting guard (Jerry West Award), small forward (Julius Erving Award), power forward (Karl Malone Award) and center (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award).
Recent Cousy Award winners include Purdue’s Braden Smith (2025), Connecticut’s Tristen Newton (2024) and Kansas State’s Markquis Nowell (2023).
