MIAA A Conference Preview: Defensive POY Candidates

We are now less than a week away from the MIAA A Conference officially tipping off. As we continue to preview the league, we’ll move onto looking at the prospects who could be considered for Defensive Player of the Year. There’s always a chance of a player not including on this list breaking out and making an argument for himself, but heading into the shortened schedule, these are the players I predict will have the best chance. [player_tooltip player_id="712747" first="Julian" last="Reese"] | 6’9 | St. Frances ’21 Reese has the opportunity to have a dominant season as he looks to end his high school career on a high note before taking his talents to College Park. The 6-foot-9 southpaw was a force around the rim last season and if he wasn’t tallying blocks, he was altering shots enough to result in misses. Reese, who took MIAA Defensive Player of the Year honors last season, has great timing on his block attempts and does a good job of avoiding body contact to prevent picking up a foul. His presence alone forces teams to game plan their offensive attack to avoid his areas. <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2021/02/Cesar-Tchilombo.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1131294" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2021/02/Cesar-Tchilombo-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a> [player_tooltip player_id="777067" first="Cesar" last="Tchilombo"] | 6’8 | John Carroll ’22 Tchilombo got off to an impressive start to last season as a defender. Similar to Reese, he was an enforcer in the paint and was a shot-blocking treat whenever he was around the vicinity of the paint. Where Tchilombo got in trouble was getting himself in bad position or trying to block any shot that came his way. Players sensed his aggression and used it against him by baiting him in the air, drawing contact and picking up quick fouls. I caught up with Tchilombo recently and he told me being more cognizant of when to go for blocks and when not to is something he really focused on this summer during his time with Global Squad. <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/10/khyrie-staten.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1059341" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/10/khyrie-staten-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a> [player_tooltip player_id="836491" first="Khyrie" last="Staten"] | 6’2 | St. Frances ’21 Staten is one of the most active off-ball defenders you’ll find in the MIAA. The Delaware State commit excels at anticipating passes in the passing lanes and causing deflections or acting as a safety on the football field by intercepting the pass and taking it the full length of the floor for a score. Many times, this award is closely related to the stats that one player can boast and for Staten, he’ll have the number of steals to give himself a valid argument in this discussion. <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2021/01/Jalen-Bryant.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1120446" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2021/01/Jalen-Bryant-300x201.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="201" /></a> [player_tooltip player_id="712769" first="Jalen" last="Bryant"] | 5’11 | John Carroll ’21 Bryant is just as good on the ball as Staten is off the ball. There aren’t many defenders you’ll see like Bryant who can bait the ball handler into push-offs that result in offensive fouls. He knows how to make life miserable for the opposing point guard and makes a major impact on the defensive end of the floor. This isn’t to say he isn’t a nightmare off the ball as well. Bryant is more than willing to give up his body and take charges as the weakside deep hole defender. Bryant averaged 2.2 steals per game as a junior. <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/08/Jared-Billups-2.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1030303" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/08/Jared-Billups-2-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a> [player_tooltip player_id="775326" first="Jared" last="Billups"] | 6’5 | McDonogh ’21 Billups name belongs on this list because of the role he has to play for the Eagles. Unless the opposing player is a center, Billups will guard the best player on the floor every game. His versatility is what makes him so valuable and his ability to lockdown players at an array of positions always gives McDonogh a chance to steal games. He’s also a major threat in the open floor where he makes plays like pinning lay ups against the backboard look routine. [player_tooltip player_id="957039" first="Samartine" last="Bogues"] | 5’6 | Calvert Hall ’23 Bogues had no problem making himself known as a pesky on-ball defender last year even as a freshman. Similar to his grandfather and former Charlotte Hornet, Mugsy Bogues, Samartine uses his quick hands to poke the ball away from opposing ball handlers and create fastbreak opportunities for his team. Now heading into his sophomore campaign, I expect Bogues to make even a bigger impact now that he’s adjusted to the speed and physicality that this level brings.