Two weeks after his Terp career ended on Korie Lucious’ heartbreaking buzzer-beater, Greivis Vasquez continues to pile up the hardware.
The ACC Player of the Year won the Bob Cousy Award yesterday, given to the nation’s top point guard, edging out a star-studded group of finalists.
The Venezuelan addressed the local media at Comcast Center this afternoon about an hour after the announcement, thanking his teammates, coaches, family and home country for supporting him in the 10 months since he decided to return for his senior season.
“It’s an unbelievable feeling,” Vasquez said. “Winning that award just says a lot not only about myself but my team and the people that surround me. I’m so thankful, and I’m really happy.”
Vasquez, who will appear on CBS’ Early Show in New York tomorrow morning for a segment on Justin’s Quest, will head to Indianapolis, site of this year’s Final Four, to accept the award Monday.
The award named for Hall of Fame point guard Bob Cousy is an extension of the national respect Vasquez earned during the season’s final three months as the Terps surged into the national rankings.
Vasquez, who hit double figures in the Terps’ final 29 games, carried the Terps to a No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament despite a lackluster start. After withdrawing from the NBA Draft last June, Vasquez solidified his spot in Terp history by averaging 19.6 points and 6.3 assists per game.
The 6-foot-6 guard beat out five other finalists, including Kentucky’s John Wall and Duke’s Jon Scheyer, for the award, which has been presented annually since 2004. The original watch list included 73 point guards from across the NCAA’s three divisions.
“Whether it was passing, rebounding, playing defense or making big shots, Greivis made our team better,” coach Gary Williams, who is already in Indianapolis, said in a statement. “Greivis did whatever was necessary to help us win games. He was a great leader.”
To go along with his gaudy career statistics, that will likely be Vasquez’s enduring legacy with the Terps. This award serves as just another way to quantify his impact on the Terp program.
Although Vasquez’s lofty postseason team goals fell short in his senior campaign (and Vasquez did say he thinks they’d still be playing if Lucious’ shot didn’t fall and the Terps survived), he’ll try to build off that success as he looks toward a pro career.
“I’m going to keep it humble and I’m going to keep being hungry,” Vasquez said. “I’m going to keep working hard for the rest of my career.”
Eric Detweiler is The Diamondback’s Terrapin Men’s Basketball Team beat writer. He can be reached at edetweilerdbk@gmail.com. You can follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/edetweiler.