Former Tennessee basketball great Allan Houston will be among an elite list of award recipients at the 29th annual Thurman Munson Awards Dinner set for Feb. 3 at the Grand Hyatt in New York City. Houston joins baseball players Carlos Beltran and Johnny Damon, World Series hero Ron Swoboda, NFL player David Tyree and Olympic gold medalist Dara Torres as recipients of Thurman Munson Awards from the AHRC-NYC Foundation.
Tennessee’s all-time leading scorer and the second-leading scorer in SEC history (2,801 points), Houston was a two-time All-America selection and a four-time first-team All-SEC performer during his UT career (1989-93). He was selected by the Detroit Pistons as the 11th overall pick in the 1993 NBA draft and played 12 seasons in the NBA with the Pistons and New York Knicks.
Houston’s philanthropic efforts have resulted in five separate “Good Guys in Sports” honors by The Sporting News. He was named the 2002 Man of the Year by the Brooklyn Boys and Girls Club and spearheaded educational initiatives such as “Allan’s Courtside Classroom” and the “My Teacher is a Hero” program.
Through the efforts of Allan and his wife, Tamara, the Allan Houston Charitable Fund has raised more than $500,000 for Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Kentuckiana, the local chapter in Houston’s hometown. And in 2003, he created the Wade Allan Houston Scholarship at the University of Tennessee in honor of his father, Wade Houston, who was the men’s basketball coach at UT from 1989-94.
More recently, Allan Houston founded the Allan Houston/Citigroup Business Education and Development Center in Harlem, N.Y. The organization helps young aspiring entrepreneurs with limited resources by providing six months of education and training based on the National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship curriculum; mentoring and business-plan writing; and one year of support consisting of pre-paid office space, a team of advisors and up to $20,000 in seed capital.
Houston also presently works as an assistant to the president for basketball operations of the Knicks.
For tickets and information about the Munson Awards Dinner, call 212-249-6188.
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Comments » 8
rockitwithrespect writes:
attaboy luther!
pms151 writes:
One of the true gentleman athletes to ever live.
tennisvol writes:
Congratulations Allan and keep up the good work.
johnlg00#206211 writes:
Well-deserved honor for one of the finest gentlemen ever to wear the Orange!
Vawlfanpreandpost writes:
Congrats Allan. Another great Ambassador for the University of Tennessee.
BillVol writes:
Good guy, but no NCAA appearances to his credit.
Vawlfanpreandpost writes:
That certainly wasn't his fault.
WeLoveTennesseeVols writes:
Don Knotts is cool!
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