North Carolina’s Joel Berry, coming off the heels of perhaps his best game of the season, has been named as one of five finalists for the Bob Cousy Award, symbolic of the top point guard in college basketball. Berry scored 28 points and went 5 for 5 from beyond the 3-point arc in Saturday’s 90-83 win against Duke at the Smith Center. For the season, he is averaging 15.5 points, 3.7 assists and 3.3 rebounds per game while shooting a career-best 42.6 percent on 3-pointers. Joining the 6-foot junior on the list of finalists is UCLA’s Lonzo Ball, Villanova’s Jalen Brunson, Kansas’ Frank Mason and Gonzaga’s Nigel Williams-Goss. Berry is vying to become the fourth Tar Heel point guard to win the Cousy Award. Raymond Felton won the honor in 2004-05 and Ty Lawson was the choice in 2008-09, followed by Kendall Marshall in 2011-12. The winner of the Cousy Award will be announced in April as part of a made-for-television awards show following the season.
