Williams nominated for NABC Good Works Team
INDIANAPOLIS – Carson-Newman junior forward Sawyer Williams (Owenton, Ky.) has been nominated for the Allstate NABC Good Works team. Williams is Carson-Newman’s first nominee for the team, which is in its fourth year.
INDIANAPOLIS – Carson-Newman junior forward Sawyer Williams (Owenton, Ky.) has been nominated for the Allstate NABC Good Works team. Williams is Carson-Newman's first nominee for the team, which is in its fourth year.
The 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.
Williams, who's averaging 19.7 points and 7.6 rebounds this season, spends his offseason managing a goat farm.
The junior forward uses that goat farm to work with area 4-H camps and farmers associations to educate children on his area of expertise.
Williams has won regional and national awards for his goat-farming abilities.
The 154 NABC 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. The final roster of 20 award recipients will be unveiled in February.
"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 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.
"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).
