THE LEFTY DRIESELL AWARD

2015 Lefty Driesell Award

Virginia's Darion Atkins accepts the 2015 Lefty Driesell award at the CollegeInsider.com Award's Banquet on April 3 in Indianapolis.

April 3, 2015

2015 LEFTY DRIESELL AWARD
 
INDIANAPOLIS, IN  -- Virginia's Darion Atkins is the recipient of the 2015 Lefty Driesell National Defensive Player of the Year.
 
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.
 

2015 LEFTY DRIESELL DEFENSIVE ALL-AMERICA TEAM

Karl-Anthony Towns 6-11 Fr. Kentucky
Darion Atkins 6-8 Sr. Virginia
Gary Bell Jr. 6-2 Sr. Gonzaga
Malcolm Brogdon 6-5 Jr. Virginia
Willie Cauley-Stien 7-0 Jr. Kentucky
Rakeem Christmas 6-9 Sr. Syracuse
Kyle Collinsworth 6-6 Jr. BYU
Tekele Cotton 6-3 Sr. Wichita State
Demarcus Daniels 6-7 Jr. North Florida
Nnanna Egwu 6-11 Sr. Illinois
Jerian Grant 6-5 Sr. Notre Dame
Jelani Hewitt 6-2 Sr. Georgia Southern
Anthony Hickey 5-11 Sr. Oklahoma State
Brice Johnson 6-9 Jr. North Carolina
Reggie Lynch 6-10 So. Illinois State
T.J. McConnell 6-1 Sr. Arizona
Jordan Mickey 6-8 So. LSU
Shonn Miller 6-7 Sr. Cornell
Larry Nance, Jr. 6-8 Sr. Wyoming
Josh Richardson 6-6 Sr. Tennessee
Richard Ross 6-6 Sr. Old Dominion
Justin Tuoyo 6-10 So. Chattanooga
Corey Walden 6-2 Sr. Eastern Kentucky
Julian Washburn 6-8 Sr. UTEP
Briante Weber 6-2 Sr. VCU
Jay Wright 6-1 So. UL-Lafayette

 

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 Lefty Driesell award voting panel is made up of current division I coaches, athletic administrators, and senior College Insider staff members.  The recipient of the 2024-25 award will be announced in April, in San Antonio, TX site of the men's Division I 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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