Davon Reed Nominated for Allstate NABC Good Works Team
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – University of Miami men’s basketball student-athlete Davon Reed has been nominated for the Allstate NABC Good Works Team, the National Association of Basketball Coaches and Allstate Insurance Company announced Wednesday.
Reed, a senior from Ewing, N.J., has posted a 3.348 GPA while majoring in sports administration with a double minor in marketing and communications. Following his junior campaign, he was named to the National Association of Basketball Coaches Honors Court, a national award “recognizing the talents and gifts that these men possess off the court and the hard work they exhibit in the classroom.” He is a two-time All-ACC Academic Team honoree and has been listed on the All-ACC Academic Honor Roll all three seasons at Miami. Reed has been named to the Dean’s List (3.5 GPA) twice, Athletic Director’s List (3.2) five times and was a five-time Book Buster (3.0). Reed serves as a basketball representative on the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee at the university. In that role, he attends regular SAAC meetings, participates in campus and community events, and votes in yearly elections.
Reed is known as Mr. Dependable on the men’s basketball team due to his professionalism in his daily life and the consistent leadership he provides to his teammates. He chose to attend the University of Miami for its mix of academics as well as athletics, after attending Princeton Day School, where his peers are accepted to Ivy League schools. As a sophomore Reed was dealt an injury that could have cost him an entire season, but with his work ethic and determination, he only missed eight games that season. Along with playing on the men’s basketball team, Reed also works in the athletics marketing department, assisting with the execution of strategic marketing plans for all sports at the university.
Reed serves as a leader on the basketball court and also in the Coral Gables community. For three years he has served as an elementary school pen pal, writing letters to local students, promoting the importance of academics while striving for professional dreams, in any field of work. Reed has also volunteered in the community at the Miami Rescue Mission Homeless Shelter. In the summer, Reed gives back to local youth by working as a counselor at the Jim Larrañaga Basketball Camp, providing leadership to campers through recreational endeavors.
A three-year team captain, Reed has shown competitive leadership since his arrival on the campus of the University of Miami. Reed was third on the team in scoring as a junior (11.1 ppg), behind a pair of men who are now playing pro basketball. He started all 35 games for a team that played in the NCAA Sweet 16 and tied for second place in the Atlantic Coast Conference. As a sophomore, Reed was named to the NIT All-Tournament Team after battling through an early-season injury that could have caused him to redshirt the campaign. That season he improved from 2.4 points and 2.4 rebounds per game in five non-conference games to 9.2 ppg and 3.6 rpg in ACC play, helping the Canes to the championship game of the NIT. As a rookie, Reed spent time in the starting lineup, despite being on a team with six experienced upperclassmen.
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.
More information about the Allstate NABC Good Works Team® and theAllstate WBCA Good Works Team® is available at www.nabc.org and www.wbca.org.
