One SEC player was outstanding enough on the defensive end of the floor this season to earn his way onto Andy Katz’s All-Defensive Team.
With Katz’s top 5 defensive stalwarts being revealed on Wednesday, the SEC wasn’t shut out of the college basketball analyst’s selections after the conference got 10 teams into the Big Dance on Sunday night.
Who was that SEC player that Katz included? It was none other than Florida junior center Rueben Chinyelu, who locked up and locked down more than a few opponents in the SEC and out of conference this season.
The honor from Katz wasn’t Chinyelu’s first for his defensive prowess this season. The 6-10 defensive beast from Nigeria was recently named the SEC Defensive Player of the Year. Besides his obvious place on the SEC All-Defensive Team, Chinyelu was also honored for his all-around play this season, being named to the All-SEC Second Team.
Chinyelu shined in the classroom, too, being tabbed the SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year in addition to his honors on the court and for his defense. He has ruled the boards during a season that’s still going strong into the NCAA Tournament, averaging 11.5 rebounds per game to go with his 11.2 points per contest.
Joining Chinyelu on Katz’s All-Defensive Team on Wednesday was Duke‘s Maliq Brown, St. John’s Zuby Ejiofor, Michigan’s Aday Mara and Kansas’ Flory Bidunga.
With Chinyelu trying to lock opposing players down in the NCAA Tournament, here is how the Kalshi market currently sees Florida’s chances of going the distance for the second straight season:
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
