SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Maryland freshman guard Melo Trimble has been named to the watch list of candidates for the 2015 Bob Cousy Collegiate Point Guard of the Year Award, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced Tuesday.

Trimble, a 6-3 guard from Upper Marlboro, Md., was a McDonald's All-American and the No. 1-ranked player in the state of Maryland before arriving to College Park. Trimble averaged 23.1 points at Bishop O'Connell High School as a senior and was tagged the 2014 Washington Post All-Metro Player of the Year.

The annual honor, named for Hall of Famer and former Boston Celtic Bob Cousy, recognizes the top point guards in men's college basketball. Over 35 candidates have been nominated for the 2015 Bob Cousy Award.

“The Hall of Fame is honored to work with Mr. Cousy and to recognize some of the nation's top collegiate point guards,” said John L. Doleva, President and CEO of the Basketball Hall ofFame. “This year's list showcases student athletes that have all of the intangibles that would make them great candidates for this prestigious award.”

“The Cousy Award has become one of the top awards in college basketball,” said Ken Kaufman, Chair of the Bob Cousy Award and former president of the National Association of BasketballCoaches (NABC). “We look forward to another season of watching the best point guards in college basketball compete for this elite award.”

This watch list of candidates will be narrowed down to a final 20 in early February, then final five by early March. A premier Selection Committee has been appointed by the Hall of Fame to review the candidates in contention for the nation's top collegiate point guard award. This committee is made up of top college basketball personnel including members of the media, head coaches, media relations contacts and Hall of Famers. The Cousy Award winner will be presented the award on Championship Monday in Indianapolis at the Hall of Fame's Class of 2015 Announcement and Press Conference.

Previous winners of the Bob Cousy Award have included Jameer Nelson (St. Joseph's), Raymond Felton (North Carolina), Dee Brown (Illinois), Acie Law (Texas A & M), DJ Augustin (Texas), Ty Lawson (North Carolina), Greivis Vasquez (Maryland), Kemba Walker (Connecticut) and last year's recipient Kendall Marshall (North Carolina), Trey Burke (Michigan) and Shabazz Napier (Connecticut).

For more information on the 2015 Bob Cousy, log onto www.CousyAward.com.

2015 Bob Cousy Award Candidates
Olivier Hanlan  - Boston College
Quinn Cook  - Duke
Tyus Jones - Duke
D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera - Georgetown
Kevin Pangos - Gonzaga
Siyani Chambers - Harvard
Yogi Ferrell - Indiana
Monte Morris -  Iowa State
Kenneth Smith - Louisiana Tech
Cameron Payne Murray State University
Chasson Randle - Stanford
Will Cummings - Temple
Alex Caruso - Texas A&M
T.J. McConnell - Arizona
Ryan Boatright - Connecticut
Kasey Hill - Florida
Andrew Harrison - Kentucky
Tyler Ulis -  Kentucky
Terry Rozier - Louisville
Melo Trimble - Maryland
Angel Rodriguez - Miami
Derrick Walton Jr. - Michigan
Jarvis Summers - Mississippi
Marcus Paige - North Carolina
Pierria Henry - North Carolina (Charlotte)
Jordan Woodward - Oklahoma
EC Matthews - Rhode Island
Isaiah Taylor - Texas
Julius Brown - Toledo
Delon Wright - Utah
London Perrantes - Virginia
Keifer Sykes - Wisconsin-Green Bay
Ryan Arcidiacono - Villanova
Briante Weber - Virginia Commonwealth
Juwan Staten -  West Virginia
Fred VanVleet - Wichita State