Leaky Black is your ACC Defensive Player of the Year
"Leaky Black shut down their number option by his play on the defensive end." That's probably what every Carolina fan said after each Tar Heel game this season.
As the regular season whines down, it's the time of the year when the ACC awards are voted on and given out. The only one that is an absolute lock is Leaky Black as the ACC Defensive Player of the Year.
ESPN analyst Jay Bilas listed Black as one of three players to be considered ACC Defensive Player of the Year. Coach Hubert Davis said "Every game his assignment is to play the best offensive player on the perimeter, and he loves that challenge. He loves that assignment. And he’s been fantastic on both ends of the floor." Those should be reasons enough for Black to win ACC Defensive Player of the Year, but some voters like the eye test, a few are analytics-based, and others are just biased. Let's break it down the old fashion way:
Georgia Tech’s Michael Devoe is one of the top scorers in the ACC at 18 points per game. When Black guarded him, he shot 6-of-13 for 15 points in the first game, then 1-of-2 for two points and six turnovers in the rematch.
NC State’s Dereon Seabron is another prolific scorer with his 17.3 points per game average. Black held him to 1-of-6 for two points in the first game, then 5-of-12 for 11 points in the rematch.
Duke's Paolo Banchero scored five of the Blue Devils’ first eight points, the last time the two rivals squared off. Hubert Davis switched Black on Banchero and Black held Banchero to 3-of-11 shooting and eight points the rest of the way.
"The way that he has defended the other team's best player has just been off the chart, not only in terms of lowering their points per game, it's just his effort on the defensive end making them work hard." Davis said when asked how valuable is Black on defense. "He's gotten steals and deflections. He's stayed out of foul trouble. He's just made it hard for whoever he's guarding to catch the ball, to score, to get good looks. He's been relentless on the defensive end."
Syracuse's Buddy Boeheim was the latest victim in the "Leaky lockdown lab" as he too failed to hit his season average in points (19) when he shot 5-of-13, and had a crucial turnover with less than 20 seconds to go as Black applied elite perimeter defense.
How did this 6-8 guard/forward from Concord, NC become such a top-notch defender? Well according to his mom, Carla Black "Leaky got his defense and passing from his dad [Rechon Black] when he was younger. Leaky played in a youth under 10 league when he was around six or seven and one of the ways he could stay on the court was by playing defense." Carla Black went on to say that Leaky also analyzed defense by watching his older sisters play basketball.
Just like her son, Carla Black emphasizes defense. During the Tar Heel victory at Clemson last month, one extremely vocal UNC fan could be heard on the ACC Network hot mic chanting “Defense” every time Clemson had the ball.
Twitter was able to confirm it was indeed Carla Black; listen closely.
With defense being a priority in the Black household, there's no surprise that why Leaky Black is the best defender in the ACC.
Another stellar defensive performance against Banchero (or AJ Griffin) will just about lock up Black as the ACC Defensive Player of the year.
