University of Tennessee Athletics
Richardson Receives National Defensive Honors
April 01, 2015 | Men's Basketball
BOSTON, Mass. -- Senior Josh Richardson has been named a "Defensive All-American" and finalist for the 2015 Lefty Driesell National Defensive Player of the Year Award.
Richardson is one of 26 finalists for the honor, a list that includes just two other players from the Southeastern Conference: Willie Cauley-Stein and Karl-Anthony Towns of Kentucky.
While Richardson led the Vols in scoring this season with 16.0 points per game, he was also one of the defensive leaders in the SEC. He averaged 2.1 steals and 4.5 rebounds per game.
Last month, he became the first player in Tennessee history to be named to the SEC All-Defensive Team twice. He was also named first-team All-SEC and has picked up all-district honors from the NABC and the USBWA.
"It's a big honor to be recognized again for my defense," Richardson said. "That's a part of my game that I've always taken a lot of pride in. There are some really great players on this list, so it's rewarding to be mentioned alongside these types of players."
The Lefty Driesell Award is named in honor of coaching legend Lefty Driesell, who is the only person to ever win 100 games at four different Division I schools. He is best known for his time at Maryland, leading the program to the NIT title in 1972 and its second-ever ACC Tournament Championship in 1984. He finished his career at Maryland with a 348-159 record and concluded his career with an impressive 786-394 mark.


The recipient of the national honor will be announced at the CollegeInsider.com Awards Banquet on Friday in Indianapolis, site of the 2015 men's division I basketball championship.
