Miami Center Named to Naismith Men's College Defensive Player of the Year Watch List
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One of the nation’s best rebounders and shot blockers, University of Miami center Ernest Udeh Jr. was named to the Naismith Men's College Defensive Player of the Year Watch List, the Atlanta Tipoff Club announced Thursday.
The senior has cleaned up the glass and has been an integral part of Miami’s 17-4 start to the season as he is averaging 10.0 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game.
The Orlando, Florida, native tops the ACC and is ninth nationally with 7.1 defensive rebounds per game and leads the country in defensive rebounding percentage at 31.4 percent. Udeh has registered five games this season in which he has hauled in 10-or-more defensive rebounds.
In ACC play, Udeh tops the conference with 10.3 rebounds and is tied for the conference lead in defensive rebounds at 58.
Udeh’s 26 blocks rank him in the top 10 in the ACC, and he has registered seven games in which he has tallied multiple blocks. In the last two games against Syracuse and Stanford, has swatted seven shots.
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Miami's Star Freshman has Become the 'Connector' For the Hurricanes
The Miami Hurricanes' defense has played at an elite level this season, but at times, the offense has taken a step back.
The Hurricanes also saw injuries ahead of conference play that most had to recover from. The Canes are already dealing with Marcus Allen being out for the season, but they also lost their four-star combo guard Dante Allen. He returned at the start of conference play, and while his stats may not pop out, he has been the glue that has kept the team together.
Head coach Jai Lucas knows highlights this ahead of the Canes hoops matchup against Stanford in Coral Gables.
"He's a connector," Lucas said about the star guard. " Dante's impact on his always because he cares about winning. He always is looking to find and make the right plays, and when he's in the game and when he's out there, you know, he always gets the ball where he needs to get and then on the defensive side, he just competes with everybody in.
"You need some of those guys on the team who just are connecting players and can build the pieces together, so that way, you know, Tre can be Tre and Shelton can be Shelton, Malik and Tru and all those guys can kind of be themselves, and you add those connectors. Dante's one of our best ones that's doing it."
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Justice Sandle is a graduate of Mississippi State University earning a Bachelor of Arts and Science in Communications with a concentration in Print and Digital Journalism. During his time in Starkville, he spent a year as an intern working for Mississippi State On SI primarily covering basketball, football, baseball, and soccer while writing, recording, and creating multimedia stories during his tenor. Since graduating, he has assumed the role of lead staff writer for Miami Hurricanes On SI covering football, basketball, baseball, and all things Hurricanes related.