THE LEFTY DRIESELL AWARD

2018 Lefty Driesell Award

April 3, 2018

2018 DRIESELL AWARD

 
BOSTON, MA -- West Virginia’s Jevon Carter is the recipient of the 2018 Lefty Driesell award.
 
The 6-foot-2 senior led the nation in steals with 112 on the season. He also was tops in college basketball in forcing a steal on 4.7 percent of his possessions.  He was the only player in the country to average 17 points, six assists and three steals per game this season.
 
“Jevon Carter changes the game by just being on the floor,” said CollegeInsider.com’s Angela Lento. “He makes a major impact without scoring a point. Watching him play defense is worth the price of admission.”
 
Carter holds the single-season school record for steals (112) and career-record (330).  He became the first major college player and just the fifth Division I player all-time to have more than 1,500 points, 500 rebounds, 500 assists and 300 steals in a career.
 
The Maywood, Illinois native is the first player to win the award twice, as he grabbed the honors in 2017.

The award is named after Lefty Driesell who 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.


2018 LEFTY DRIESELL DEFENSIVE ALL-AMERICA TEAM


Mo Bamba, Texas
Bruce Brown, Miami 
Jevon Carter, West Virginia 
Chris Chiozza, Florida
Paris Collins, Jackson State
JaKeenan Gant, Louisiana
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Kentucky
T.J. Haws, BYU
Jaren Jackson Jr. Michigan State
Ryan Kemrite, Liberty
Sagaba Konate, West Virginia
Dakota Mathias, Purdue
K.J. Maura, Sr., UMBC
Jalan McCloud, ETSU
Shawn Occeus, Northeastern
Namdi Okonkwo, Pacific
Grant Riller, Charleston
D’Marcus Simonds, Georgia State
Ben Richardson, Loyola Chicago
Stanford Robinson, Rhode Island
Chris Silva, South Carolina 
Jonathan Stark, Murray State
Khyri Thomas, Creighton
P.J. Thompson, Purdue
Matisse Thybulle, Washington
Marques Townes, Loyola Chicago
Keaton Wallace, UTSA
Glynn Watson Jr., Nebraska
Isaiah Wilkins, Virginia
Robert Williams, Texas A&M
 

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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