INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - Bard College junior Harry Johnson has been selected from a pool of 154 candidates to the Allstate Insurance Company National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Good Works Team, it was announced Tuesday.

In its fourth year, the prestigious award honors college basketball student-athletes who have dedicated themselves to bettering the lives of others through giving back in their communities. There is a 10-player men's team and a 10-player women's team.

The nominations were narrowed down to the final team rosters by voting panels led by former Duke University student-athlete, two-time NCAA Champion and seven-time NBA All-Star Grant Hill and 10-time WNBA All-Star and University of Tennessee student-athlete Tamika Catchings. The voting panels are comprised of former coaches, esteemed college basketball athletes and members of the media.

The 10 men's players - five from NCAA Div. I institutions, and five from Divisions II, III and the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) - will be invited by Allstate to be recognized at the 2016 NABC Convention and the NCAA Final Four, which coincide. They will participate in a community service project in the host city, Houston, and be introduced during halftime of one of the national semifinal games at the Final Four. Given the breakdown of the team, Johnson was actually one of five players in the nation chosen in his group.

"I was shocked," Johnson said, after being told last week he'd been selected. "Just being nominated for a national award was a humbling experience. To actually be one of five people chosen is unreal."

Johnson has been deeply involved in two significant projects since coming to Bard. The first is Dream to Achieve, which grew out of a Trustee-Leader Scholar effort at Bard. He mentors underprivileged youths in nearby Hudson, N.Y., using basketball as a way to teach them life skills, like discipline, time management, and the importance of doing well in school. The other project is Brothers at Bard, an organization created to give young black men on campus a safe environment to discuss life at Bard, or whatever else they wanted to discuss. It's grown into a two-part program, the first part being support, and the second part being off-campus trips to discuss social issues, listen to others talk about their struggles, and to meet successful men of color. Johnson's exploits were detailed in this feature story published on the Bard Athletics web site last March.

"Most people head off to college looking only to better themselves," said Bard Head Men's Basketball Coach Adam Turner, who nominated Johnson for the award. "Harry came to Bard searching for a way he could impact the world. He is an incredible leader and someone who raised the level of everything we do on the court, but at the end of his four years, the thing he will leave behind is hundreds of minority students from the local area who will feel empowered and motivated to seek greatness in their lives because they crossed paths with Harry."

It's going to be a busy spring for Johnson. He was also selected to participate in the Bard Student Conference in Budapest, Hungary, during Spring Break in late March. He will join approximately 30 students from Bard's international network: Al-Quds University (Palestine), American University of Central Asia (Kyrgyzstan), Bard College Berlin (Germany), Smolny College (Russia), European Humanities University (Lithuania), Bard College at Simon's Rock (USA) and Bard College in Annandale. The conference is focused on finding ways college students can make a difference in communities as change agents around the world.

He'll return just in time to leave for Houston.

"As a kid filling out brackets, watching March Madness you dream about playing in the Final Four, but most never even have the chance to watch the game in person," Johnson said. "So having the opportunity to go to the game is like a dream come true for any fan of the game."

The NABC Convention is Mar. 31-Apr. 4. The national semifinal games are on Apr. 2, and the National Championship game is on Apr. 4.

"What this trip is all about is serving, though," Johnson said. "My high school lacrosse coach used to tell everyone, 'Don't thank me, just pass it on.' I've lived by this motto. Although I'm thankful I'm receiving this honor, it's great to have a chance to go down there and pass it on to the people of Houston."

The press release about the awards, which includes the rosters of both teams, and be found right here.

As Johnson and his teammates make a push toward a potential first-ever Liberty League playoff spot, he continues to make the most of every opportunity Bard can offer.

"Bard has done great things in helping me become the person I am today," Johnson said. "I think the greatest thing is liberating my mind. As a kid, people tell you all the time, 'You can do whatever you want.' But it's easy to be skeptical of this growing up in the circumstances I did.

"My experience at Bard has assured me that I can do anything I want to do, and this is great preparation for the real world," he concluded.