LeTourneau University

 

 

The National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC), the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) and Allstate Insurance Company announced an all-time high 278 nominees for the 2017 Allstate NABC and WBCA Good Works Teams®. 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.

Sam Talbert, a captain for the LETU men’s basketball team, was nominated for his incredible work ethic on the LeTourneau campus as well as countless community service hours in the Longview community. Talbert was the only men’s basketball player selected from the ASC and UT Tyler’s Michelle Obach, who was named by the WBCA, joins them. This year is the second consecutive season that the YellowJackets have been represented on the Good Works Team® as CJ Edwards, selected during the 2015-16 season.

Sam has been a member of LeTourneau University’s Student Athletic Advisory Committee for three years and is serving as the vice president for 2016-17. Along with his work as a member of SAAC, Talbert is part of the Captain’s group in the YellowJacket Leadership Academy and helps out in various roles around campus including game day set up, coordinating game day concession workers, and assisting with athletic training duties.

The junior from Georgetown, Texas, has spent three years volunteering around the Longview community including time spent with the Special Olympics, Keep Longview Clean and Boys & Girls Club to name a few. Talbert has also been a youth basketball coach in the Longview area during his time at LeTourneau.

“Sam has a great work ethic that is on display on and off the court. He cares about others and is always looking to help others but never wants any recognition. Sam is a real example of a servant-leader who represents our university and basketball program at the highest standard!” I am very proud of Sam, and he is deserving of this recognition.”

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 western 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. February is the unveiling date for the final roster of 20 award recipients.

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.

More information about the Allstate NABC Good Works Team® and the Allstate WBCA Good Works Team® is available at www.nabc.org<http://www.nabc.org/> and www.wbca.org<http://www.wbca.org/>.