NORFOLK, Va. – The National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) and Allstate Insurance Company announced that senior guard of the Old Dominion men’s basketball team Trey Freeman was named a nominee to the 2016 Allstate NABC Good Works Team. This distinguished award, which will eventually consist of a 10-member team to be announced in February, shines a spotlight on a select group of student-athletes who have shown dedication to community service and altruism in their communities.
Freeman, the 2014-15 C-USA Newcomer of the Year and first team all-conference honoree, graduated with a bachelor of science in communications with a public relations concentration in December of 2014. The senior guard from Virginia Beach, Va. has held a GPA of 3.0 or better every semester at ODU. Freeman is on pace to graduate in May of 2016 with master of science in sport management. He has been a Dean’s List recipient multiple times. In the summer of 2014, he interned with the ODU Freshmen Preview office.
In 2014-15, he was named to the C-USA All-Academic team and then to the NABC Honors Court in 2013-14, recognizing those men’s collegiate basketball student-athletes who excelled in academics during the past season.
The 154 NABC nominees and the 103 WBCA nominees were submitted by sports information directors and college basketball coaches across the country. From the nominations, special voting panels, headlined by former Duke University basketball athlete, two-time NCAA champion and seven-time NBA All-Star Grant Hill, and former University of Tennessee basketball athlete, NCAA champion and WNBA legend Tamika Catchings, will select two 10-member teams comprised of five student-athletes from the NCAA Division I level and five student-athletes from Divisions II, III and the NAIA.
In its fourth year, the Allstate NABC and WBCA Good Works Teams recognize players at all levels of college basketball who have made outstanding contributions in the areas of volunteerism and civic involvement. From establishing nonprofits that provide youth with the necessary tools to become leaders of tomorrow, to raising awareness around pertinent issues that could save lives, these student-athletes exhibit impeccable leadership skills both on and off the court.
“The community service efforts from the nominees on the 2016 Allstate NABC and WBCA Good Works Teams are an inspiration to Allstate, our agents and our employees,” said Thomas Clarkson, president of the west territory for Allstate Insurance Company and a member of the 2016 NABC and WBCA Good Works Teams selection panels. “Allstate is honored to embark on another year of collaboration with the NABC and WBCA, and together recognize student-athletes for their unwavering commitment to making a difference.”
“The Allstate WBCA Good Works Team is a nationally recognized award that continues to honor an impressive group of student-athletes who strive to better our society through service efforts. The WBCA family of coaches celebrates all the women’s and men’s basketball student-athletes who demonstrate a respect for the power of sports coupled with the responsibility to give back to others,” said WBCA Executive Director Danielle Donehew. “The WBCA is proud to partner with Allstate and commends the recognition of these remarkable student-athletes for their significant humanitarian contributions.”
Members of the Allstate NABC Good Works Team will be invited by Allstate, an official corporate partner of the NCAA, to the 2016 NABC Convention and 2016 NCAA Men’s Final Four in Houston, 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 2016 WBCA Convention and at the 2016 NCAA Women’s Final Four in Indianapolis, and will also participate in a local volunteer project. Allstate is an official corporate partner of the NABC, WBCA and NCAA.
“Once again as we have a record number of nominees for the Allstate Good Works Teams, it’s very evident that our men’s and women’s student-athletes in college basketball are unselfish and unwavering in their commitment to service,” said Jim Haney, executive director of the NABC. “From global initiatives in third-world countries to feeding the hungry and sheltering the homeless around their own communities, these young men and women are very deserving of the recognition that Allstate provides with this exemplary program.”
In addition to Clarkson, Hill and Catchings, the 2016 Allstate NABC and WBCA Good Works Team selection panel members include: former college basketball student-athletes Clark Kellogg (Ohio State University / CBS Sports), and Alana Beard (Duke University); media members Seth Davis (Sports Illustrated/CBS), Dana O’Neil (ESPN), Carolyn Peck (ESPN) and LaChina Robinson (ESPN/FOX); 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 college basketball 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 shines a spotlight on the positive, off-the-field impact college football student-athletes have on their communities.
Jennie Simms of the ODU women’s basketball team was also named a nominee for the 2016 Allstate Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Good Works Team.
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.