LSU's Tari Eason Names Semifinalist for Naismith Defensive Player of the Year

Eason has 31 blocks, 55 steals as Tigers primary forward defender, one of country's best six men

LSU's Tari Eason was named a semifinalist for the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year award on Tuesday. 

Eason, who has been one of the most impactful transfers in the country, has blossomed on both ends of the floor for the purple and gold this season. He's averaging 16.5 points and 6.9 rebounds per contest with the Tigers in his first season in Baton Rouge. 

He's steadily improved as a perimeter shot maker but really his calling card all year has been how aggressive he in on defense as well. Eason currently ranks No. 5 in the SEC, averaging two steals per game while also top 10 in the conference in blocks at 1.1 per contest.

What makes him such a ferocious defender is his mobility at 6-foot-8 to step out on the perimeter and switch one through five while also being physical enough in the paint to make life difficult on offenses. He's had countless chase down blocks and intuitive steals as one of the back men in the Tigers full court press and has risen to first round consideration in many analysts eyes because of his versatility. 

Eason was one of three SEC players to be nominated as a semifinalist, joining Auburn's Walker Kessler and Kentucky's Oscar Tshiebwe. 

The Tigers have two games remaining in the regular season to build up their seeding in the NCAA tournament with Arkansas on Wednesday and Alabama on Saturday. 

"We've got a chance to pick some momentum up this last week going into the conference tournament," Will Wade said. "I've been a part of teams, it's all about when you get hot. I've been a part of teams that play great all regular season and collapse in the tournaments."

Here are the 10 semifinalists for the award:

Tari Eason/So./F/LSU/SEC

Jacob Gilyard/Sr./G/Richmond/Atlantic 10

Chet Holmgren/Fr./C/Gonzaga/WCC

Walker Kessler/So./F/Auburn/SEC

Christian Koloko/Jr./C/Arizona/Pac-12

Caleb McConnell/Sr./G/Rutgers/Big Ten

Kevin McCullar/Jr./G/Texas Tech/Big 12

Jamarion Sharp/Jr./C/Western Kentucky/C-USA East

Oscar Tshiebwe/Jr./F/Kentucky/SEC

Mark Williams/So./C/Duke/ACC