Leaky Black left off semifinalist list for Naismith National Defensive Player of the Year

UNC basketball forward Leaky Black was left off the semifinalist list for Naismith National Defensive Player of the Year.

The North Carolina Tar Heels continue their march toward the NCAA Tournament, picking up a big road win on Monday night against Florida State. They have one game left in the regular season before the ACC Tournament next week.

Over the past week or so, the Tar Heels have gone 3-0 in games they needed to win. And a  big reason is the play of Leaky Black.

Black consistently has been one of the best defenders in the ACC and in the country over the past few seasons. He’s emerged as an elite defender, often limiting the opposing team’s best player. So when the semifinalists for the Naismith National Defensive Player of the Year were released on Tuesday, it was shocking NOT to see Black’s name there.

Black was left off the list of 10 semifinalists for the award which honors the best defensive player in college basketball.

Making the list was: Chase Audige (Northwestern), Moussa Cisse (Oklahoma State), Jaylen Clark (UCLA), Zach Edey (Purdue), Trayce Jackson-Davis (Indiana), Ryan Kaklbrenner (Creighton), Caleb McConnell (Rutgers), Kevin McCullar Jr. (Kansas), Marcus Sasser (Houston) and Zakai Ziegler (Tennessee).

Black being snubbed from the list may just add more fuel to his fire as the regular season winds down in his final year as a Tar Heel.