UNC Basketball: Leaky Black named to ACC All-Defensive team

Fifth-year senior Leaky Black joins an exclusive list of UNC basketball players who have earned multiple ACC All-Defensive team selections.

On Monday, Leaky Black of the UNC basketball program was named to the ACC All-Defensive team.

With his selection, Black has earned this honor multiple times in his North Carolina career. He joins Jackie Manuel and John Henson as the only Tar Heels to ever accomplish this feat.

The Concord, North Carolina native has made himself known as a lockdown defender. He was challenged to defend some of the ACC’s best perimeter scorers and his versatility, including his 6-foot-9 frame, made him very effective at guarding multiple positions on the floor.

Black was the focal point of the Tar Heels’ defense that has held opponents to fewer than 70 points in 17 of their 31 total games this season, including each of the last four contests. For his efforts, Black earned 55 votes, which was the third-most in the conference.

All-Defensive Team
Reece Beekman, Virginia, 63 votes
Jesse Edwards, Syracuse, 56
Leaky Black, North Carolina, 55
Dereck Lively II, Duke, 45
Kihei Clark, Virginia, 26

The Tar Heels’ top defensive player fell short in the Defensive Player of the Year voting, as he finished second to Virginia’s Reece Beekman.

Defensive Player of the Year
Reece Beekman, Virginia, 29 votes
Leaky Black, North Carolina, 18
Jesse Edwards, Syracuse, 13
Dereck Lively II, Duke, 6
Federiko Federiko, Pitt, 3
Ja’von Franklin, Georgia Tech, 3
Justyn Mutts, Virginia Tech, 2
Norchad Omier, Miami, 1

Once his UNC basketball career officially comes to a close, Leaky Black will be remembered as one of the best defensive players in program history.

As he developed during his five-year career in Chapel Hill, Black not only improved in every aspect of his game but grew into an elite defensive player. This skill set was very valuable to the UNC basketball program, as Black would consistently shut down the opposing team’s top-scoring threats, which was the key to many Tar Heels victories over his career.

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