INDIANAPOLIS – Mid-America Christian men's basketball senior guard Malcolm Mann has been officially nominated for the 2017 Allstate NABC Good Works team, announced today (Nov. 30) by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC).
Mann is one of 181 NABC nominations for this prestigious honor. There will be 10 NABC award winners announced in February, with five NCAA D-I and five NCAA D-II, III and NAIA student-athletes being honored.
The Allstate NABC and WBCA Good Works Teams® recognizes players at all levels of college basketball whose charitable involvement and altruistic acts stand out amongst all other student-athletes participating in the sport. From leading an initiative to help end the water crisis in Flint, Mich., to co-founding a non-profit with the mission to improve literacy rates across the country, the players nominated embody the true spirit of teamwork and giving back.
Mann was personally involved in the water crisis project in Flint, Mich. and also participated in a basketball clinic for the Special Olympics program at the NAIA National Championship tournament in Kansas City, Mo.
"Malcolm is our point guard, second year captain, and the kid who hit the biggest shot in MACU men's basketball history", head men's basketball coach Josh Gamblin said.
"Those things, however, do not define this young man. Malcolm has become our first ever basketball player at MACU to become president of our Student Government Association. He was selected by our student body, which consisted of many non-athletes. This past summer Malcom interned at Frito Lay in Flint, Michigan and did a project in which the goal was to "Quantify the effect of the Flint water crisis". During his time with Frito Lay he also served the community by leading Frito Lay's group into a block party for the crisis awareness for the region that was mostly effected by the water crisis. Malcolm serves with his father by mentoring youth ages 13-18 in Plano, Texas through "Kappa League" and Young Women Incorporated". He is also a member of the Iron Man Club at MACU and has served at local OKC churches and at the Regional Food Bank."
Athletic departments and sports information directors across the country nominated the 181 NABC and the 97 WBCA student-athletes for the prestigious honor. Two special voting panels, headlined by former Duke University basketball athlete, two-time NCAA® champion and seven-time NBA All-Star Grant Hill, and former Notre Dame basketball star, two-time Nancy Lieberman Award winner and current WNBA player Skylar Diggins, will select 10-member teams from both the NABC and WBCA, comprised of five student-athletes from the NCAA Division I level and five student-athletes from Divisions II, III and the NAIA. The final roster of 20 award recipients will be unveiled in February.
"The positive impact that student-athletes are making on college campuses and communities around the world can sometimes go unnoticed," said Thomas Clarkson, president of the west territory for Allstate Insurance Company and a member of the 2017 NABC and WBCA Good Works Teams® selection panels. "Allstate is a proud supporter of NCAA® college basketball and takes immense pride in working with the NABC and WBCA to recognize players who continue to make giving back a priority and inspire future generations of athletes."
"The growth of the Allstate NABC Good Works Team program in five years has been remarkable with a record-setting number again for 2017," said NABC Executive Director Jim Haney. "We are very grateful to Allstate for shining a bright light on these men and women in college basketball whose compassion and commitment continue to help so many."
In addition to Clarkson, Hill and Diggins, the 2017 Allstate NABC and WBCA Good Works Teams® selection panel members include: former college basketball student-athletes Clark Kellogg (Ohio State University / CBS Sports), Len Elmore (University of Maryland / CBS Sports / ESPN) and Alana Beard (Duke University); media members Seth Davis (Sports Illustrated / CBS), Dana O'Neil (ESPN), LaChina Robinson (ESPN / FOX) and Brenda VanLengen (ESPN / FOX Sports); former head coaches Bobby Cremins (Georgia Tech / College of Charleston), Seth Greenberg (Virginia Tech University), Marsha Sharp (Texas Tech University) and Nell Fortner (Auburn University); and current coach Coquese Washington (Penn State University).
Since 2008, Allstate has partnered with the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) as a sponsor of the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team®, which recognizes the off-the-field impact college football student-athletes have on their communities.
More information about the Allstate NABC Good Works Team® and the Allstate WBCA Good Works Team® is available at www.nabc.org and www.wbca.org.
