OMAHA, Neb. -- Creighton center Ryan Kalkbrenner picked up his third honor of the day as the junior big man was named as an All-District VI pick by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association. Within the past five hours, Kalkbrenner had also been named All-District by the National Association of Basketball Coaches as well as one of four finalists for Naismith National Defensive Player of the Year by the Atlanta Tip-Off Club.
Kalkbrenner leads the BIG EAST with 2.2 blocked shots per game, which ranks 18th nationally. The Florissant, Mo., native ranks second in CU history with 192 career blocked shots and anchors a Bluejay defense that led the league during conference play in scoring defense, scoring margin and field goal percentage defense.