AJ Hoggard egregiously snubbed from Bob Cousy Award watch list

Originally posted on Spartan Shadows
By Connor Muldowney | Last updated 10/23/23

AJ Hoggard is arguably the best point guard in the Big Ten and yet he is somehow not on the Bob Cousy Award watch list.

Another fresh batch of AJ Hoggard #disrespekt has hit the internet.

At Big Ten Media Days a couple of weeks ago, Hoggard said that he plays with such a huge chip on his shoulder because of the media continuously overlooking him. He said that he keeps bulletin board material. Well, he can add another major piece to his collection as the 2024 Bob Cousy Award watch list was released on Monday and his name was not on it.

The Bob Cousy Award is given annually to the nation’s top point guard and the preseason watch list included 20 names and three of those came from the Big Ten. To say that Hoggard isn’t even a top 20 point guard nationally nor is he top three in the Big Ten is blasphmous.

Ant Wright, a colleague of mine and former Michigan basketball player, even said that the preseason Bob Cousy Award watch list is invalid without anyone from Michigan State on there. He’s not wrong.

Arguably the top backcourt in the country with nobody mentioned makes this list invalid https://t.co/CiP052g6mZ

— ᗩᑎT ᗯᖇIGᕼT (@itsAntWright) October 23, 2023

Honestly, it’s hard to believe that this list is real.

Hoggard just finished 12th in the nation last year with 5.9 assists per game and he improved in every single metric, averaging 12.9 points and 3.7 rebounds while shooting 33 percent from deep and 80 percent from the free throw line. He also averaged nearly a steal per game and was one of the better point guard defenders out there, even locking down Marquette’s Tyler Kolek in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

And yet he doesn’t get any respect.

To say that Hoggard isn’t even an All-Big Ten caliber point guard (saying three point guards in the conference are better is essentially admitting that) is just asinine. I’d be shocked if he wasn’t a first-team all-conference selection in March.

But hey, please keep disrespecting Hoggard because it usually causes him to play better. He might just mess around and become an All-American this season.

This article first appeared on Spartan Shadows and was syndicated with permission.

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