Naismith men's Defensive Player of the Year watch list revealed
The 2021-22 college basketball season is in full swing and many players are having strong seasons. Looking specifically at players who make an impact on the defensive end of the floor, there’s 15 that have been tabbed candidates for the 2022 Naismith Men’s Defensive Player of the Year award.
Of the 15 players that made the award’s watch list, the SEC leads the way with four candidates, while the Big 12 lists three players. There were 10 total conferences represented.
While 15 players were named to the initial watch list, it will be cut down to 10 semifinalists on March 1 and then four finalists on March 16. The winner of the 2022 Naismith Men’s Defensive Player of the Year award will be announced on April 3.
Here’s a look at the 15 candidates on the 2022 Naismith Men’s Defensive Player of the Year award watch list.
1.) Walker Kessler, Auburn Tigers
2.) Jacob Gilyard, Richmond Spiders
3.) Oscar Tshiebwe, Kentucky Wildcats
4.) Chet Holmgren, Gonzaga Bulldogs
5.) Jamarion Sharp, Western Kentucky Hilltoppers
6.) Christian Koloko, Arizona
7.) Kevin McCullar, Texas Tech
8.) Mark Williams, Duke
9.) Tari Eason, LSU
10.) Tyrese Hunter, Iowa State
11.) Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua, Baylor Bears
12.) Kennedy Chandler, Tennessee Volunteers
13.) Posh Alexander, St. John’s Red Storm
14.) Trayce Jackson-Davis, Indiana Hoosiers
15.) Nathan Mensah, San Diego State Aztecs
College basketball insider breaks down early favorites to be Louisville’s next coach
The Louisville Cardinals‘ athletic administration is officially moving on from Chris Mack as the team’s head coach, and naturally anyone with a pulse on college hoops is beginning to mull over potential candidates to replace him.
While the Louisville job has historically been considered an elite ACC gig, there are several factors that make this process a bit more difficult than a routine search for a top program.
Seth Davis, a college basketball reporter for CBS Sports and senior writer for The Athletic, published a story outlining the entire rise and fall of Mack and the factors in play as Louisville seeks to replace him, and closed it out with an intriguing list of potential prospects.
Here are the names outlined by Davis as potential candidates to replace Mack at Louisville.
Ed Cooley, head coach, Providence
Scott Davenport, head coach, Bellarmine University
Andy Enfield, head coach, USC
Eric Musselman, head coach, Arkansas
Nate Oats, head coach, Alabama
Kenny Payne, New York Knicks assistant coach
Bruce Pearl, head coach, Auburn
Kevin Willard, head coach, Seton Hall
In the full article from The Athletic, there are extensive breakdowns and factors to why each candidate would make sense to take the helm for the Louisville Cardinals, and the potential hinderances that would make each tough to sway to the program.
On3’s Sean Labar contributed to this report.