Courtesy of GoExplorers.com
INDIANAPOLIS – La Salle University men’s basketball student-athlete Amar Stukes (Philadelphia, Pa./La Salle College HS) was named a nominee for the 2017 Allstate NABC Good Works Team, it was announced on Wednesday. This esteemed award honors an outstanding group of student-athletes who represent the sport’s finest in the areas of community service and leadership among their peers.
A redshirt junior athletically, Stukes has excelled on the court, in the classroom and with his community service efforts. Last year, he started 28 games for the Explorers and led the team in assists, and through four games is again leading the team in assists with 18. Academically, Stukes was named 2016 Big 5 Scholar Athlete of the Year, maintains a 3.35 GPA as an accounting major and is on pace to graduate in May.
He is a four-year Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) representative for men’s basketball and has spearheaded a lot of the team’s community service efforts. He led the Safe Choices Workshop for the men’s basketball team at La Salle University and has participated in Bringing Hope Home community service activities that helps to raise money for families that are affected by cancer. Stukes has also volunteered his time to feed the homeless at Sunday Breakfast Rescue Mission in Philadelphia and has participated in teamwork discussions with third graders in Philadelphia public schools.
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.
“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.”
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.
“It is a joy each year to partner with Allstate in recognizing the many college women’s and men’s basketball players who are performing good works in their respective communities,” said WBCA Executive Director Danielle M. Donehew. “This year’s WBCA group of 97 nominees is no exception. They are truly the heroes of our sport and deserve our gratitude. Congratulations to them all.”
Members of the Allstate NABC Good Works Team® will be invited by Allstate, an official corporate partner of the NCAA, to the 2017 NABC Convention and 2017 NCAA Men’s Final Four® in Phoenix, where they will participate in a community service project benefitting the city. Members of the Allstate WBCA Good Works Team® will be recognized during the 2017 WBCA Convention and at the 2017 NCAA Women’s Final Four® in Dallas, and will also participate in a volunteer project in the local community. Allstate is an official corporate partner of the NABC, WBCA and NCAA.
“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.
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