NDBL award named for Collier By SEKOU SMITH The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Published on: 03/31/06 The NBA's developmental league has renamed its Sportsmanship Award in honor of former Hawks center Jason Collier, who died April 15 from heart failure, officials announced Thursday. Collier was a first-team All-D-League pick with the Fayetteville Patriots in 2004, the same season he joined the Hawks. "By virtue of this award, Jason's memory will live forever in the league that helped provide him with the opportunity to develop his skills as a player, and become a quality young man whose life was taken away from us much too soon," Hawks general manager Billy Knight said in a statement. "We are truly grateful to have shared time with him as a member of the Hawks family, and speaking on behalf of the coaches, players and the front office, we continue to miss him." The Sportsmanship Award is given annually to the D-League player who best represents the ideals of character and conduct on the court. This year's recipient, Ime Udoka of the Fort Worth Flyers, will be honored at his team's final home game April 9. "Ime is well deserving of this honor. His commitment to working hard from the beginning to the end of the season is to be commended," Fort Worth coach Sam Vincent said in a statement. "He is a consummate professional and the heart of our team, not only on the court, but as a solid citizen, a loyal teammate and a guy coaches can depend on." 资料来源 http://www.ajc.com/hawks/content/sports/hawks/0331collier.html --

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