Naismith men's Defensive Player of the Year watch list revealed

The 2021-22 college basketball season is in full swing and many players are having strong seasons. Looking specifically at players who make an impact on the defensive end of the floor, there’s 15 that have been tabbed candidates for the 2022 Naismith Men’s Defensive Player of the Year award.

Of the 15 players that made the award’s watch list, the SEC leads the way with four candidates, while the Big 12 lists three players. There were 10 total conferences represented.

While 15 players were named to the initial watch list, it will be cut down to 10 semifinalists on March 1 and then four finalists on March 16. The winner of the 2022 Naismith Men’s Defensive Player of the Year award will be announced on April 3.

Here’s a look at the 15 candidates on the 2022 Naismith Men’s Defensive Player of the Year award watch list.

1.) Walker Kessler, Auburn Tigers

2.) Jacob Gilyard, Richmond Spiders

3.) Oscar Tshiebwe, Kentucky Wildcats

4.) Chet Holmgren, Gonzaga Bulldogs

5.) Jamarion Sharp, Western Kentucky Hilltoppers

6.) Christian Koloko, Arizona

7.) Kevin McCullar, Texas Tech

8.) Mark Williams, Duke

9.) Tari Eason, LSU

10.) Tyrese Hunter, Iowa State

11.) Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua, Baylor Bears

12.) Kennedy Chandler, Tennessee Volunteers

13.) Posh Alexander, St. John’s Red Storm

14.) Trayce Jackson-Davis, Indiana Hoosiers

15.) Nathan Mensah, San Diego State Aztecs

College basketball insider breaks down early favorites to be Louisville’s next coach

The Louisville Cardinals‘ athletic administration is officially moving on from Chris Mack as the team’s head coach, and naturally anyone with a pulse on college hoops is beginning to mull over potential candidates to replace him.

While the Louisville job has historically been considered an elite ACC gig, there are several factors that make this process a bit more difficult than a routine search for a top program.

Seth Davis, a college basketball reporter for CBS Sports and senior writer for The Athletic, published a story outlining the entire rise and fall of Mack and the factors in play as Louisville seeks to replace him, and closed it out with an intriguing list of potential prospects.

Here are the names outlined by Davis as potential candidates to replace Mack at Louisville.

Ed Cooley, head coach, Providence

Scott Davenport, head coach, Bellarmine University

Andy Enfield, head coach, USC

Eric Musselman, head coach, Arkansas

Nate Oats, head coach, Alabama

Kenny Payne, New York Knicks assistant coach

Bruce Pearl, head coach, Auburn

Kevin Willard, head coach, Seton Hall

In the full article from The Athletic, there are extensive breakdowns and factors to why each candidate would make sense to take the helm for the Louisville Cardinals, and the potential hinderances that would make each tough to sway to the program.

On3’s Sean Labar contributed to this report.