The annual award, named after Hall of Famer and former Boston Celtic Bob Cousy, recognizes the top point guard in men’s college basketball.
Ferrell averaged a team-high 17.3 points, 3.9 assists and 3 rebounds per game as a sophomore last season.
He attempted a program record 220 3-point shots, with a success rate of 40 percent.
Fellow Big Ten members Melo Trimble (Maryland) and Derrick Walton (Michigan) also made the watch list.
Past winners of the Cousy Award include UConn’s Shabazz Napier and Kemba Walker, Michigan’s Trey Burke and North Carolina’s Kendall Marshall.
The candidates will be narrowed to 20 in early February, then five by early March.
A selection committee, consisting of members of the media, head coaches, media relations contacts and Hall of Famers will then select the winner.
The Cousy Award recipient will be presented on Championship Monday in Indianapolis at the Hall of Fame’s Class of 2015 Announcement Press Conference.
Sam Beishuizen
