After being left off the Bob Cousy Award Top 20 watch list, Arizona Basketball star Nico Mannion gets named to the Naismith Trophy Top 50 watch list. This award is given to the Player of the Year in college basketball. There has not been a player from Arizona to have won this award. Could Mannion be the first?
Honestly, it is surprising that not one player from Arizona has won this award already. Sean Elliot did win the AP Player of the Year in 1989, but not the Naismith. Larry Johnson of UNLV won it that year.