Hamilton College men's basketball player Peter Kazickas '15 (Amagansett, N.Y./St. Mark's School [Mass.]) has been selected to the 2014 Allstate National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Good Works Team®.
2014 Allstate Good Works Team
This community service honor, which is in its second year, recognizes college basketball players who have made a commitment to improving their communities and the lives of others. The Allstate NABC Good Works Team is comprised of five student-athletes from NCAA Division I and five more from NCAA Divisions II and III and the NAIA.
A total of 117 NABC nominees were submitted by sports information directors across the nation on behalf of their colleges and universities. The final team rosters were chosen by prestigious voting panels comprised of former coaches, student-athletes and media members. Former Duke University student-athlete Grant Hill, who is a two-time NCAA champion and seven-time NBA all-star, headlined the Allstate NABC Good Works Team voting panel.
Kazickas worked with "Hoops 4 Hope" in Zimbabwe during the summers of 2011 and 2013 when he helped repair basketball facilities and the Hoops 4 Hope Center. He taught the children fundamental basketball skills and life skills such as HIV/AIDS awareness, the importance of education, how to avoid street life and drugs, being respectable and how to become positive contributors to society using lectures, songs and games. He has generated more than 200 basketballs for the program through clothing and shoe drives in the U.S.
"It's a great honor to be recognized for the community service and work I've done around the community and in Zimbabwe," Kazickas said. "I feel lucky that it has all been work that I love to do, and I hope that I have been able to impact the kids in Zimbabwe as much as they have impacted me. I'm very happy to say that news of my nomination has prompted others to inquire about Hoops 4 Hope and ask how they can get involved and help. That's what it's all about."
Closer to campus, Kazickas has spent time at a local food bank, adopted a family for the holidays, assisted with a turkey drive and helped with blood drives. He has been an after-school tutor for children and taught English to adult refugees.
Kazickas has played in all 22 games for the 13-9 Continentals. He is averaging 7.9 points and 3.6 rebounds per game and is ranked sixth in the NESCAC in field goal percentage at 56.7 percent.
"With his daily actions and caring personality, Peter embodies the best values of the Allstate Good Works award and is very deserving of this recognition," Hamilton men's basketball coach Adam Stockwell said. "Peter is a fantastic representative of the emphasis on service that is embraced by the Hamilton College community. It is exciting for us that Peter is a teammate and leader within our program and exudes the unselfish team-first mindset we strive for in our student-athletes."
Members of the Allstate NABC Good Works Team will be invited by Allstate to the 2014 NABC Convention and 2014 NCAA Division I Men’s Final Four in North Texas, where they will participate in a community service project. Allstate is an official corporate partner of the NCAA and the NABC.
"The 10 young men selected to the 2014 NABC Good Works Team amplify the significant contributions of all of the men's basketball student-athletes across America," NABC Executive Director Jim Haney said. "We are proud to partner with Allstate to celebrate them as outstanding role models and for the positive impact they have made in their communities, the nation and the world."
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