McConnell - Cousy Finalist - Vote for Him

Mickey has made the final cut for the Cousy Award. I hope he's earned a spot in this year's best among the WCC bretheren, as well. It's WCC against the rest.

Voting Starts February 8th through this link.
http://www.cousyaward.com/vote.php?DB_OEM_ID=21400


SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - Senior guard Mickey McConnell was named among the 10 finalists in consideration for the 2011 Bob Cousy Award, given by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

This annual award is given to college basketball's top point guard and is named after Hall of Famer and former Boston Celtic great Bob Cousy. An original list of 70 plus candidates made up of players from around the country was trimmed by a Hall of Fame appointed, nationally-based committee to 20 and has now narrowed that list to a final ten.

Fans are also able to vote for one of the 10 finalists by visiting http://www.cousyaward.com/vote.php.

"This final list of ten players represents the best of the best in college basketball at the point guard position," said John L. Doleva, President and CEO of the Basketball Hall of Fame. "We look forward to recognizing the nation's top college basketball point guard and wish all the candidates best of luck."

McConnell is the only West Coast Conference player listed as a finalist, is the league's leader in assists, assist/turnover ratio and minutes played. The Mesa, Ariz. native is third in the league in scoring, second in free throw percentage and seventh in field goal percentage. McConnell has been named WCC Player of the Week three times this season and is generally considered the conference's leading candidate for player of the year honors.


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Norris Cole, Cleveland State
Corey Fisher, Villanova
Jimmer Fredette, BYU
DJ Gay, San Diego State
Brandon Knight, Kentucky
Demetri McCamey, Illinois
Mickey McConnell, Saint Mary's
Nolan Smith, Duke
Isaiah Thomas, Washington
Kemba Walker, Connecticut
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" We have many excellent candidates for the 2011 award that share Mr. Cousy's vision of a point guard. We look forward to following each of these players as the season heads to the final weeks and recognize the top player in college basketball at the point guard position at the Final Four," said Ken Kaufman, Chair of the 2011 Bob Cousy Award.

Beginning February 8, via the Bob Cousy Award's website - www.cousyaward.com - fans will be able to vote for the top point guard. The player that receives the most fan votes will receive one vote toward the final committee vote. Fan voting will run one month - beginning February 8 and will conclude March 8.

The current listing of ten finalists for the 2011 Bob Cousy Award will be narrowed down to five players by March 10th. The final five players in contention for the award will be presented to Mr. Cousy and the Hall of Fame's selection committee. These Hall of Fame committees are made up of top college basketball personnel including media members, head coaches, Sports Information Directors and Hall of Famers. The winner of the 2011 Bob Cousy Award will be awarded at the Hall of Fame's Class Announcement on Monday April 4th in Houston, Texas as part of NCAA Final Four weekend.

About the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
Located in Springfield, Massachusetts, the birthplace of basketball, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame promotes and preserves the game of basketball at every level - professional, collegiate, men and women. For more information on these and other upcoming events, please visit our website at www.hoophall.com or call 1-877-4-HOOPLA

There's some tough competition in that group! UW losing to both of the Oregon teams will probably lower Thomas' stock a bit. Plus, he hasn't looked that great against taller competition on teams like Kentucky. With the East Coast bias and ESPN being in Connecticut, I'd say that Kemba Walker might be the favorite. He's sure to get more than his share of the media attention.

Mickey's got my vote. I'm thinking his competition would be Walker and Jimmer.

Jimmer!

Too bad we won't get to see him in the league.

Mickey is slightly better,and with a name like Mickey how could you not vote for the kid...Jimmermania is spreading across the nation with our many LDS friends leading the charge...so he will probably win even though he sure doesnt involve his teamates and is pretty one dimensional* I think in the old days we called those guys "ball hogs" unless their name was Michael Jordon... where Mickey and Kemba Walker are so much more well-rounded and our both a pleasure to watch orchestrate their teams.

Is Jimmer en route to become Tebow of LDS?

Is Jimmer doing circumcisions, too?

I don't know if I like where this is going... should I just make some comment about beer and change the subject?

PTY isn't in town yet. I can't wait to sample the floral tones and citrus aroma of this fine adult beverage.

BTW, did you know that he had TWO villas on Lake Como? Yes, it was a destination resort even in Roman times where the fabulously wealthy could retreat from the heat and filth of the city. The villa right on the water was called "Comedy" and the one he had in the hills above the lake he called "Tragedy".
I'm not sure why, though, it seems like a grand location.

Too bad he died while he was in Bythinia ( Syria) while he was governor there. He seemed like a nice guy, very loyal to the memory of his uncle, who's name he took when the old guy adopted him. Emperor Trajan praised his loyalty and moderation. Did you know it was Tacitus that encouraged him to write about PTE and when Vesuvius Destroyed Pompey? In fact, what mostly survived Of his writings were his letters to Tacitus. I guess Tacitus never threw anything away.

Well, PTY was nice except for that crucifying Christians thing he was into...


How's that

And who would hold the persecution of Christians (whom he referred to as pagans) against him?

Nearly two thousand years later, beer manufacturers do not seem to mind.

It would be interesting to know if the Plinys enjoyed a pint or two? I would be interested to know if their names were chosen for a reason? Maybe this has already been discussed?

In his writing, he did call them Christians - more accurately, he, as most romans did, called them Chrestians, because he confused the Greek word for Messiah ( Kristos) for the roman word chrestus- (kind or helpful one) a common appelation for a servant. They commonly called Jesus Crestus and that's how he was known to Tacitus and Suetonius, for example. Even some early translations of Acts use the name, as it was written to explain the faith to Romans. The name is also found in Marcian.

I have no doubt that the Plinys both enjoyed a draught or two. PTE owned vast estates and was very interested in what grew on them. One of the reasons he wrote his " Naturalis" was to maximize the use of his holdings.

Also, both were military guys who spent time subjugating and ruling the Eastern part of the empire. Egypt was at that time the barley and wheat growing breadbasket of the Empire and the legions would certainly have used beer as a staple just as the Egyptians did. Egyptian beer was more like a weak porridge than the cold fermented stuff the Celts brewed. Flavius Josephus, in his "war of the Jews" mentions that the 5th and 10th legions , Vespatian's shock troops of destruction of Jerusalem, were supplied from Alexandria. He even mentions the vast amounts of "corn" (wheat, in Europe) that travelled with them. The Celts were more into mead, anyway.

It probably didn't taste like the beer named after him though. Russian River named the beer after these guys because PTE is alleged to be the first person to name Hops taxonomically. He called it "lupus Salictarius" or "wolf among the willows" , Salix being the Latin for willow. Willow was used for medicinal purposes. It's the plant we first got aspirin from ( acetyl salicylic acid).
He called hops a "wicked and pernicious weed" - so he probably didn't know what it could do to beer. It's not even clear that he was talking about the same plant that Linneus called "humulus lupulus" ( ground wolf), and is the taxonomic name we now know hops by. If it is the same plant, the "wolf" name probably referred to how invasive it could be.

Linneus does mention its' use for beer and mead, and it was well known to northern Europeans as Hoppe, hoube, or even houmme and was used in beer there. Linneus drew pictures, so we are more sure about what plants he was referring to.


Whether the Russian River folks are right or not, they brew a yummy beer. And it certainly follows PTE's dictum that " fortune favors the bold", which PTY, in his writings to Tacitus, says he uttered just before he died in the fumes from the Vesuvius eruption that devastated Pompeii.

You did vote for Mickey, didn't you?

All I can do is smile at the post. Thanks for the info. Vote to follow.

Great post, PG. I'm a little bit surprised that Notre Dame's Hansbrough isn't on the list. Doesn't he play point guard? Oh well, there are always omissions on lists like these...