Nerlens Noel

The UK school record was previously nine blocks, set by Sam Bowie in 1981 and was then tied by Andre Riddick in 1993.

Although he recorded only two points, Ole Miss coach Andy Kennedy said in the post-game press conference that "[Noel] was the difference in the game" and that he is "an incredible defensive presence."

Ole Miss senior forward Murphy Holloway added that he believes Nerlens Noel is the "best shot blocker [he has] played against", including Anthony Davis.

Nerlens Noel (born April 10, 1994) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association (NBA).

His collegiate basketball career ended in his first season with a tear of his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) at the University of Kentucky.

Since Noel was well known for his elite shot blocking abilities, fans and the media had high expectations for him to fill the shoes of Anthony Davis, who had just led the Kentucky Wildcats to a national championship in the previous season, was the 2011–2012 National Player of the Year in the NCAA, and set a Kentucky and NCAA freshman single-season block record with 186.

He plays center and power forward, and was one of the top high school basketball players in the class of 2012.

Born outside Boston in Malden, Massachusetts to Haitian immigrant parents, Noel spent his first two years of high school at Everett High School.

After his sophomore year, he transferred to Tilton School in Tilton, New Hampshire.

He was rated as the No. 1 player in the class of 2012 by ESPN and Scout.com, and No. 2 by SLAM.

Noel was selected to play in the 2012 Nike Hoop Summit and the 2012 Jordan Brand Classic.

In addition to his high school career, Noel also played AAU basketball on the same team as future Sixers teammate Michael Carter-Williams.

Shortly before his high school graduation, an article in The New York Times described Noel as being hailed as one of the best shot blockers of his generation, although he was also described as having unrefined offensive skills.

After deliberating among several elite college basketball programs, Noel decided in April 2012 that he would be going to the University of Kentucky to play NCAA Division I basketball.

He made his verbal commitment by revealing the UK logo shaved in the back of his head on national television.

In his third game on November 16, 2012, he accumulated 15 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 block, and 4 steals against Lafayette.

Noel was drafted with the sixth overall pick in the 2013 NBA draft by the New Orleans Pelicans.

His rights were later traded to the Philadelphia 76ers.

Noel repeated his sophomore year at Tilton, reclassifying to the class of 2013, but later reclassified back to the 2012 college recruiting class.

Noel averaged 12.6 points, 7.2 rebounds and 3.9 blocks per game as a senior.

On January 12, 2013, although Kentucky lost the game against Texas A&M, Noel recorded 15 points, 11 rebounds, 7 blocks, 6 assists, and 4 steals.

On January 29, 2013, Noel set the UK single-game record with 12 blocks in an 87–74 team victory over No. 16 Ole Miss.

Five of the blocks happened while Noel had four personal fouls, and two of them were denials on slam dunk attempts.

On February 12, 2013, in a game against the Florida Gators, Noel tore the ACL in his left knee after blocking a Florida lay-up, forcing him to sit out the remainder of the season.

Before his injury, it was projected that he would be the 1st overall pick in the 2013 NBA draft.

Despite his injury, Noel decided to declare for the 2013 draft on April 15, 2013.

Noel was honored with many awards, including SEC Freshman of the Year, SEC Defensive Player of the Year, SEC First Team, SEC All Freshman Team, and SEC Community Service Team.

In addition to earning All-SEC first team honors by the league's coaches, Noel earned first-team honors from the Associated Press, continuing a four-year streak of UK players earning first-team AP honors.

The Wildcats' 6ft 11in center was joined by UNLV Runnin' Rebels' Anthony Bennett, UCLA Bruins's Shabazz Muhammad, Oklahoma State Cowboys's Marcus Smart and Kansas Jayhawks's Ben McLemore on the Freshman All-America team.

He was the fifth Kentucky player under coach John Calipari to earn the honor from the USBWA, joining John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins, Anthony Davis, and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist.

Noel entered the 2013 NBA draft after playing one season at the University of Kentucky and was projected to be one of the top picks, with many considering Noel the favorite to be picked first in the draft.

He was invited to sit in the "green room", a room of the projected top 10 to 15 collegiate basketball players during the draft and ended up being selected with the sixth overall pick by the New Orleans Pelicans.

There were concerns around the league about his torn left ACL, which may have caused him to slide down the draft.

On July 12, 2013, the trade sending Noel to the 76ers was finalized.

On September 24, 2013, he signed with the 76ers.

Although the 76ers' original plan was to have Noel play during the 2013–14 season, Noel missed the entire season as he recovered from knee surgery.

Later that night, Noel's draft rights were traded along with a 2014 first round pick to the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for guard Jrue Holiday and the draft rights to Pierre Jackson.

Noel joined the Philadelphia 76ers for the 2014 NBA Summer League.

On October 29, 2014, Noel made his NBA debut in the 76ers' 103–91 loss to the Indiana Pacers.

In just under 35 minutes of action as a starter, he recorded six points, along with 10 rebounds and three blocks.