Louisville's Chucky Hepburn Not Named a Bob Cousy Award Finalist

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Chucky Hepburn is in the midst of a fantastic final season in college.

Starting all 22 games for the Cardinals up to this point, the transfer point guard from Wisconsin is averaging 15.1 points, 6.4 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 2.4 steals per game - all of which are career-highs.

As you can imagine, he's played a key role behind the resurgence of the Louisville men's basketball program. After going 12-52 under previous head coach Kenny Payne, first year head coach Pat Kelsey has the Cardinals sitting at 16-6 overall and firmly in discussion for the NCAA Tournament.

With a season such as this, one would think that he would be in discussion for best point guard not only in the ACC, but all of D1 hoops. Well, not according to Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, who awards the annual Bob Cousy Award.

The 10 finalists for the award, which is presented annually to the top point guard in college basketball, was announced by the Hall on Monday. However, Hepburn was not among the 10 players up for the award.

Instead it was Mark Sears (Alabama), Walter Clayton Jr. (Florida), Ryan Nembhard (Gonzaga), Keshon Gilbert (Iowa State), Kam Jones (Marquette), Ace Baldwin Jr. (Penn State), Braden Smith (Purdue), Dylan Harper (Rutgers), Zakai Ziegler (Tennessee) and Javon Small (West Virginia) who made the cut.

Omitting Hepburn from the list of 10 semifinalists is certainly a questionable decision. Not only does he lead the ACC in assists and steals per game, he's 12th and 14, respectively, in the nation. Not to mention his scoring average and 41.9 shooting percentage is higher than a few others who did make the cut.

Louisville will be back in action on Wednesday, Feb. 5 when they travel to Boston College. Tip-off against the Eagles is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. EST.

(Photo of Chucky Hepburn: Jamie Rhodes - Imagn Images)

You can follow Louisville Cardinals On SI for future coverage by liking us on Facebook, Twitter/X and Instagram:

Facebook - @LouisvilleOnSI
Twitter/X - @LouisvilleOnSI
Instagram - @louisvilleonsi

You can also follow Deputy Editor Matthew McGavic at @Matt_McGavic on Twitter/X and @mattmcgavic.bsky.social on Bluesky