INDIANAPOLIS, IN – University at Buffalo men’s basketball senior Willie Conner has been named a nominee for the NABC Good Works Team, the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC), Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA), and Allstate Insurance Company announced today. An all-time high 278 individuals were honored.
Conner, a senior from Chicago IL, has been one of UB’s leaders during his two years with the Bulls. On the court he is currently second on the team in scoring at 14.7 points per game, coming off a 21-point affair against Creighton last night. In his first season, he was named to the MAC All-Defensive Team and was named the MAC Tournament Most Valuable Player.
Off the court, Conner is one of the most active UB players in the community and he serves as UB’s player representative during their current partnership with Team IMPACT, a non-profit organization that helps children forget about their illness and become part of something bigger, a team of friends.
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.
The Allstate WBCA and NABC 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.
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