By Emily McCarthy, News Staff
After he brought Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Defensive Player of the Year honors back to Huntington Avenue last month, it was announced Monday that Northeastern redshirt-junior forward Scott Eatherton has been nominated as one of 25 finalists for the 2014 Lefty Driesell National Defensive Player of the Year award.
With the nomination, Eatherton also earns a spot on the 2014 Lefty Driesell Defensive All-American Team.
In his first season with the Huskies after transferring to Northeastern last year, Eatherton led the team with 15.5 points and 10.1 rebounds per game. The Husky big man recorded 18 double-doubles on the year, trailing only Towson University senior forward Jerelle Benimon for most in the NCAA.
Eatherton was a monster on the glass for the Huskies this season, leading the CAA in offensive boards and finishing second in the conference in defensive rebounds.
Although the Huskies posted a subpar 11-21 record this year, Eatherton helped lift the team to a No. 5 seed in the CAA tournament. He then recorded his 1,000th career point as he posted a double-double in the Huskies’ CAA quarterfinal victory over Drexel University.
Northeastern’s season came to an end when they fell to No. 1 University of Delaware in the conference semifinals, 87-74, but Eatherton still scored a team-high 20 points and collected 8 rebounds.
The winner of the Defensive Player of the Year award will be announced Friday at the CollegeInsider.com Awards Banquet during the Division I men’s basketball championship festivities.
Here is the complete list of finalists: 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), Daniel Miller (Georgia Tech), 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).
