From Murray State Athletics...
From
Murray State Athletics...
Murray State senior Shaq Buchanan was honored Monday as part of the list of 25 finalists for the CollegeInsider.com 2019 Lefty Driesell award.
The award is presented annually to the top defensive player in college basketball.
Buchanan, from Madison, Mississippi, just had a tremendous 2018-19 season where he was named as the Ohio Valley Conference Defensive Player of the Year. Buchanan helped the Racers rank third in the nation in defending the 3-point shot and 43rd in defensive field goal percentage. Thanks to Buchanan and the Racers' team defense, MSU was fifth in the nation in scoring margin. Buchanan had 60 steals this season, to rank second in the OVC.
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. He also coached Davidson, Georgia State and James Madison to the NCAA tournament, making him one of three coaches to reach the NCAAs with four different programs.
The recipient of the award will be announced on April 5 at the College Insider Awards Event, in Minneapolis, site of the 2019 NCAA division I basketball championship.
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