SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Notre Dame fans know it, ACC fans know it, and now the collegiate landscape is starting to take notice. Notre Dame men’s basketball junior Markus Burton landed on the Bob Cousy Award Watch List on Monday afternoon.
The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame announced its 20-player watch list, named after the Class of 1971 Hall of Famer and former Boston Celtic and Holy Cross guard. The award is celebrating its 23rd year by highlighting the top point guard in Division I men’s college basketball.
The last Irish player to appear on the Bob Cousy Preseason Watch List was Matt Farrell ahead of the 2017-18 season. Fan voting starts on Friday, October 31. More on that below, along with the complete top-20 watch list.
Burton averaged 21.3 points per game last season, which ranks as the third most amongst returners this year. During ACC play, he was even better, averaging a league-best 23.5 ppg.
The Mishawaka native was also the team’s best distributor, averaging 3.0 assists per game last season. He joined Notre Dame great David Rivers as the only players in program history to average both 20+ points and 3+ assists in a season.
Last season, Burton’s true shooting percentage climbed to 54.8 percent while his turnover rate dropped to 14.7 percent. He also increased his three-point shooting percentage to 37.5 percent (up 7.5 percent) and free-throw percentage to 84.8 percent.