April 1, 2014
Boston, Mass. – Georgia Tech’s Daniel Miller was named a finalist Tuesday for the 2014 Lefty Driesell Award, given annually to the nation’s top defensive player by CollegeInsider.com.
The finalists also comprise the 2013-14 Lefty Driesell Defensive All-America team.
The 6-11 senior from Loganville, Ga., made the All-Atlantic Coast Conference third team by the media this year, and also was named to the ACC All-Defensive team by the media and by the coaches. Miller’s final averages of 10.9 ppg and 7.8 rpg (3rd in the ACC) were career highs, as was his 57.8-pct. shooting clip from the floor. He ranked No. 2 in the ACC with 2.42 blocked shots per game, and his field goal percentage far exceeded any of the qualifiers in the ACC rankings.
The anchor of Tech’s defensive efforts throughout his career, Miller passed Tech legend John Salley for second place on Tech’s career blocked shots list (finished with 286) this season, and moved into 11th place on the all-time ACC list. He reached eighth place on Tech’s career chart for rebounds with 821.
Miller became Tech’s 42nd player to score 1,000 points in his career during the ACC Tournament, finishing with 1,007. He never missed a game in his Tech career, starting all 126, and became only the second Tech player, joining Price, and the 10th in ACC history to start every game of his four-year.
He is joined on the Driesell Defensive All-America team by Cameron Ayers (Bucknell), Khem Birch (UNLV), Alec Brown (Green Bay), Rhamel Brown (Manhattan), Willie Cauley-Stein (Kentucky), Tekele Cotton (Wichita State), Aaron Craft (Ohio State), Scott Eatherton (Northeastern), Joel Embiid (Kansas), Justin Jackson (Cincinnati), Jordair Jett (Saint Louis), Nick Johnson (Arizona), Du’Vaughn Maxwell (Hampton), K.J. McDaniels (Clemson), Chris Obekpa (St. John’s), Elfrid Payton (Louisiana at Lafayette), Trevor Releford (Alabama), Marcus Smart (Oklahoma State), Kenneth Smith (Louisiana Tech), Corey Walden (Eastern Kentucky), Scottie Wilbekin (Florida), Kendall Williams (New Mexico), Briante Weber (VCU) and Patric Young (Florida).
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 National Invitational Tournament 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 winner of the 2014 Driesell award will be announced at the CollegeInsider.com Awards Banquet on April 4 in Dallas, site of the Division I Men’s Basketball Championship.
