THE LEFTY DRIESELL AWARD

2014 Lefty Driesell Award

April 4, 2014


PAYTON WINS 2014 LEFTY DRIESELL AWARD

DALLAS, TX  -- Louisiana at Lafayette's Elfrid Payton is the recipient of the 2014 Lefty Driesell National Defensive Player of the Year award.

Payton led the Sun Belt Conference in steals for the second consecutive year, recording 80 and increasing his school-record total to 197. The 6-foot-3 Payton finished second on the team in rebounds (6.0) and was part of a defensive unit that led the Sun Belt Conference in rebounding margin and was second in steals.

He was one of 10 Division I players during the season to record a triple-double when he scored 34 points, with 11 rebounds and 11 assists at ULM. Payton scored 31 points in games against Houston and Western Kentucky and 32 against Oakland while posting six double-doubles, including games at Louisiana Tech and defending national champion Louisville.). 

The Lefty Driesell award is named in honor of coaching legend Lefty Driesell, who is the only person to ever win 100 games at four different Division I schools. He is best known for his time at Maryland, leading the program to the National Invitational Tournament title in 1972 and its second-ever ACC Tournament Championship in 1984. He finished his career at Maryland with a 348-159 record and concluded his career with an impressive 786-394 mark.
 

2014 LEFTY DRIESELL DEFENSIVE ALL-AMERICA TEAM

Cameron Ayers 6-5 Sr. Bucknell
Khem Birch 6-9 Jr. UNLV
Alec Brown 7-1 Sr. Green Bay
Rhamel Brown 6-7 Sr. Manhattan
Willie Cauley-Stein 7-1 So. Kentucky
Tekele Cotton 6-2 Jr. Wichita State
Aaron Craft 6-2 Sr. Ohio State
Scott Eatherton 6-8 Jr. Northeastern
Joel Embiid 7-0 Fr. Kansas
Justin Jackson 6-8 Sr. Cincinnati
Jordair Jett 6-1 Sr. Saint Louis
Nick Johnson 6-3 Jr. Arizona
Du'Vaughn Maxwell 6-7 Sr. Hampton
K.J. McDaniels 6-6 Jr. Clemson
Daniel Miller 6-11 Sr. Georgia Tech
Chris Obekpa 6-9 So. St. John's
Elfrid Payton 6-3 Jr. Louisiana at Lafayette
Trevor Releford 6-0 Sr. Alabama
Marcus Smart 6-4 So. Oklahoma State
Kenneth Smith 6-3 Jr. Louisiana Tech
Corey Walden 6-2 Jr. Eastern Kentucky
Scottie Wilbekin 6-2 Sr. Florida
Kendall Williams 6-4 Sr. New Mexico
Briante Weber 6-2 Jr. VCU
Patric Young 6-9 Sr. Florida

 

The Lefty Driesell Award, given annually to the top defensive player in Division I basketball, is named in honor of the legendary former coach. 
 
Driesell won 786 games in 41 years at Davidson, Maryland, James Madison and Georgia State. He ranks eighth on the NCAA career Division I coaches victories list and his teams at each stop were known for playing tenacious defense. From 1969-1986 at Maryland, his teams posted a 348-159 record, won two Atlantic Coast Conference regular season titles and one tournament title.
 
Driesell also led Davidson, Georgia State and James Madison to the NCAA tournament, making him one of three coaches to reach the NCAAs with four different programs. His teams won a total of 16 regular season championships and six tournament championships.
 
The recipient of the 2023-24 award will be announced in April, in Phoenix, AZ site of the men's NCAA Basketball Championship.
 
 

The Lefty Driesell award is presented annually to the top defensive player in division I college basketball, as voted on by the award committee.

The 10-member voting committee consists of current and former head coaches, as well as two senior staff members of collegeinsider.com.

The award is presented annually at the site of the men's Division I NCAA basketball championship. 

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