BOSTON, Mass. – After leading the Missouri Valley Conference and ranking No. 14 nationally with 2.8 blocks per game, Illinois State sophomore center Reggie Lynch is one of 26 finalists for the 2015 Lefty Driesell National Defensive Player of the Year award, as announced by CollegeInsider.com Monday.
The recipient of the 2015 award will be announced at the CollegeInsider.com Awards Banquet this Friday, April 3, in Indianapolis, home of the 2015 NCAA Men's Basketball National Championship.
An All-MVC Tournament, All-MVC Second Team and MVC All-Defensive Team selection in 2014-15, Lynch set ISU's sophomore blocks record with 93, surpassing the previous mark of 48 established by Joe Galvin (1977-78). After just two seasons, Lynch ranks second on ISU's career blocks list, with 189, just behind Jackie Carmichael's 200 blocks (2009-13).
Lynch also leads the MVC in offensive rebounds per game (2.8), while ranking ninth in overall league-rebounding, with 5.4 boards per contest. The Edina, Minnesota, native averaged 8.9 points per game and shot 50.9 percent from the field to rank No. 8 in the MVC.
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 a 786-394 mark.
2015 LEFTY DRIESELL ALL-AMERICA TEAM
Karl-Anthony Towns, Kentucky
Darion Atkins, Virginia
Gary Bell Jr., Gonzaga
Malcolm Brogdon, Virginia
Willie Cauley-Stien, Kentucky
Rakeem Christmas, Syracuse
Kyle Collinsworth, BYU
Tekele Cotton, Wichita State
Demarcus Daniels North Florida
Nnanna Egwu, Illinois
Jerian Grant, Notre Dame
Jelani Hewitt, Georgia Southern
Anthony Hickey, Oklahoma State
Brice Johnson, North Carolina
Reggie Lynch, Illinois State
T.J. McConnell, Arizona
Jordan Mickey, LSU
Shonn Miller, Cornell
Larry Nance, Wyoming
Josh Richardson, Tennessee
Richard Ross, Old Dominion
Justin Tuoyo, Chattanooga
Corey Walden, Eastern Kentucky
Julian Washburn, UTEP
Briante Weber, VCU
Jay Wright, Louisiana-Lafayette
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