Senior JaKeenan Gant has been a nuisance defensively since donning the vermillion and white and for the second straight season that was validated on Monday afternoon with him being named to the Lefty Driesell Defensive All-America team. This also puts him on the finalist list for the award, which is presented to the best defensive player in college basketball.
Gant, the Sun Belt Conference Defensive Player of the Year, led the conference in rebounds and blocked shots during the season and was the lone Division I player to average 20 points with eight rebounds and 2.6 blocks.
The award is named after Lefty Driesell who won 786 games in 41 years at Davidson, Maryland, James Madison, and Georgia State.
The recipient of the award will be announced on April 5th at the College Insider Awards Event in Minneapolis. Below is the list of finalists.
2019 LEFTY DRIESELL DEFENSIVE ALL-AMERICA TEAM
Barry Brown Jr. 6-3 Sr. Kansas State
Shaq Buchanan 6-3 Sr. Murray State
Desure Buie 6-0 Sr. Hofstra
Brandon Clarke 6-9 Jr. Gonzaga
Mamadi Diakite 6-9 Jr. Virginia
Tacko Fall 7-6 Sr. UCF
Bruno Fernando 6-10 So. Maryland
Javon Freeman 6-3 Fr. Valparaiso
Daniel Gafford 6-11 So. Arkansas
Jonathan Galloway 6-10 Sr. UC Irvine
JaKeenan Gant 6-8 Sr. Louisiana
Ashton Hagans 6-6 Fr. Kentucky
De’Andre Hunter 6-8 So. Virginia
Tre Jones 6-3 Fr. Duke
Javon Levi 5-10 So. UT Rio Grande Valley
Tariq Owens 6-10 Sr. Texas Tech
Osun Osunniyi 6-10 Fr. St. Bonaventure
Laquincy Rideau 6-1 Jr. USF
Galen Robinson Jr. 6-1 Sr. Houston
Chris Silva 6-9 Sr. South Carolina
Justin Simon 6-5 Jr. St. John’s
Zavier Simpson 6-0 Jr. Michigan
Matisse Thybulle 6-5 Sr. Washington
Kenny Williams 6-4 Sr. North Carolina
Zion Williamson 6-7 Fr. Duke
-Clint Domingue