MEN’S BASKETBALL
2024 SEC Men’s Basketball Community Service Team Announced
Birmingham, Ala. (March 6, 2024) – In a continuing effort to recognize the accomplishments of student-athletes beyond the field of competition, the SEC once again highlighted a Community Service Team for men’s basketball for the 2023-24 season.
This marks the 26th year for the SEC Community Service Team for men’s basketball as well as for women’s basketball. All 21 league-sponsored sports have had a Community Service Team since 2004, with at-large teams for men’s and women’s sports being chosen from 1999-2003. The SEC began this concept with a football Community Service Team in 1994.
Max Scharnowski, Alabama
Throughout his career at Alabama, Max Scharnowski has made a positive impact in the community and on Alabama’s campus. Scharnowski has been a part of multiple athletics community service events that include the Halloween Extravaganza, handing out candy to children and out in the community Scharnowski has been a part of Project Angel Tree. Additionally, as a Biology/Pre-med major, he has shadowed and volunteered in various medical settings throughout his collegiate career. Since 2022 Max Scharnowski has been a SAAC Representative and has posted a 4.0 GPA and has been named to the President’s List while also being named to the SEC Academic Honor Roll.
Lawson Blake, Arkansas
Lawson not only serves his team as a valued member of the scout team to prepare the Razorbacks for their opponents, but he serves his hometown community with same dedication and enthusiasm by giving back to those that have supported him. He has volunteered 25 hours of community service and helped raise money for the Make-A-Wish Dinner Foundation, the Children’s Safety Center, Northwest Arkansas Children’s Hospital Telethon and the SAAC canned food drive. Blake has served as an elementary mentor and participated in RazorCalls, connecting with elementary students across the state via Zoom to answer students’ questions and read books to the students. He additionally helped Arkansas basketball raise over $800,000 toward cancer research at its annual Suites and Sneakers Gala. Lawson was selected to serve on Arkansas’ Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and the SEC Basketball Leadership Council. He additionally is a member of the Arkansas Fellowship of Christian Athletes.
Chaney Johnson, Auburn
For junior forward Chaney Johnson, a transfer from NCAA Division II Alabama-Huntsville, he has embraced serving others and those less fortunate in his new community. He views community service as a chance to serve as a role model and big brother to youth in the area – a beacon of light showing them, “you can always achieve what you set your mind to.” This fall, Johnson and his teammates visited the East Alabama Regional Detention Center, where they met with teenage inmates, ages 15-19, motivating and inspiring them that there’s still hope for their future. He also participated in a Youth for Christ house project, in conjunction with Church of the Highlands Serve Day, where he helped with painting, pressure washing, knocking down walls, hanging doors and doing yard work. Johnson’s favorite project was visiting Woodland Pines Elementary School, where he opened doors and helped greet kids in the carpool line, encouraging them to have a great day at school. As a team, the Tigers partnered with Auburn University’s Hillel chapter packing boxes with relief supplies, food and other items for Israeli children and soldiers at the Auburn Dream Center.
Walter Clayton Jr., Florida
Walter Clayton Jr. has been a regular participant in a variety of programs at multiple local elementary schools throughout the academic year. Clayton has taken part in reading programs, mentorship opportunities and pep rallies with Alachua County Public Schools, activities that also align with his academic interests as an education sciences major. In addition to his school-focused involvement, Clayton has spread his time to a wide range of events with Food4Kids of North Florida, North Central Florida YMCA, Made For More Mentorship Academy, The Education Foundation of Alachua County, Wreaths Across America and Partnership for Strong Families.
Silas Demary Jr., Georgia
Silas Demary Jr. has continued his role as a community leader during his first season with the Georgia Bulldogs. Prior to arriving in Athens, Demary was involved in numerous community service initiatives in his hometown of Raleigh, N.C., serving as a youth leader at Wake Chapel Church and also volunteering with the Raleigh Mission & Helping Hands, Raleigh Food Bank, The Salvation Army, Raleigh Boys & Girls Club serving Wake County and Habitat for Humanity. Demary was selected for the UGA Athletic Association’s L.E.A.D. Academy and has taken part with the Athens Boys and Girls Club’s “Shop with a Bulldog” program designed to provide Christmas gifts to deserving youth in the Athens/Clarke County Area.
Brennan Canada, Kentucky
Brennan Canada has been involved in numerous projects since arriving in Lexington as a freshman in 2019. Canada has been involved in various projects including working with the Salvation Army, God’s Pantry, Ronald McDonald House, the UK Children’s Hospital and Philadebundence. He was a part of two telethons to help raise awareness and funding for two natural disasters in Kentucky. In addition to a telethon, Canada and his teammates held an open practice that raised more than $3 million in funding for those affected by devastating flooding in eastern Kentucky in the summer of 2022. He was also a participant in the telethon in 2021 that raised money for victims of tornados that hit the western part of the state. In addition to those major projects, Canada has worked with God’s Pantry in packing food and delivering lunches to local schools, visited Kentucky Children’s hospitals and Fayette County schools alongside his teammates. Canada has served meals at Thanksgiving at the Salvation Army every year of his career and participated with the team in serving dinner and singing Christmas carols for families. Canada has also worked with Samaritan’s Feet which entails washing the feet of our youth and then distributing new shoes which they’ve done in both the western part of the state of Kentucky and in a service project in the Bahamas.
Jordan Wright, LSU
Participated in the Baton Rouge Recreation event to rededicate a local neighborhood park and open a new basketball court on the site. Participated with team members in a skills and drills workshop with area kids in which they visited with the youngsters showing them basketball skills, taking pictures and signing basketballs. Also participated in one of LSU’s top community traditions, the Halloween BOOzar in which the athletes distribute candy and teach kids about their sport in a safe environment set up around the campus. Was involved in a night at his former high school, The Dunham School, in Baton Rouge when his number was retired during their basketball season. Spoke to the student-athletes and also the fans gathered for that event. Always makes time for young fans after the game to visit, take pictures and offer a smile or encouraging word.
Jaemyn Brakefield, Ole Miss
Jaemyn Brakefield has been very active in the Oxford community since his time joining the program. In the past year, he has worked with the Willie Price Lab School Spirit Day, supporting the homecoming festivities by giving encouragement to kids and playing games with them to help build excitement. He has regularly participated in Adopt A Basket, donating over 100 Thanksgiving baskets to families in need throughout the Lafayette-Oxford-University community ahead of the holiday season. Brakefield has also worked with Feed the Sip, a yearly food sustainability project within the Stronger Together MS Initiative where volunteers assist with in the collection and donation of non-perishable food items that benefit elementary students within the Tunica and Quitman counties. He joined the rest of the Ole Miss men’s basketball team in the fall, supporting the CASA Adopt-a-Child program in providing Christmas items for foster children. He has participated each year in the Reading with the Rebels program, increasing support for literacy in the state of Mississippi by volunteering to read to local elementary schools.
Jimmy Bell Jr., Mississippi State
Bell Jr. has participated in nearly 10 community service events since he arrived on-campus last summer. He and his teammates welcomed members of State’s Access Program, students with disabilities, and conducted a practice session with the program’s members before the season began. Bell Jr. also has spent time engaging with elementary and middle school students along with their teachers from multiple schools in the Starkville community. Both State’s men’s and women’s basketball programs held their Maroon Madness preseason tipoff event at the Columbus Air Force Base for the servicemen, servicewomen and their families. Bell Jr.’s community service projects also encompass spending time with residents at an assisted living facility, distributing food from a local bank to the Starkville community and aiding in State’s initiative to clean up campus before the school’s football season opener.
Mabor Majak, Missouri
Mabor Majak has led Missouri men’s basketball’s community service efforts during his time as a Tiger. Most notably, he has led a study group at Granny’s House in Columbia, mentoring children of African immigrants. He has also been active with Athletes in Action and has led school mentorship programs both in person and via zoom, participating in reading programs. Majak has also served as a kindergarten aid, teaching physical activities and leading sports camps. Mabor also serves as a team captain for the Tigers this season and is a member of the African Studies Association.
Zachary Davis, South Carolina
Davis leads the team in service hours this season. A local, in-state product from Orangeburg, Davis places high value on giving back to where he grew up. He’s participated in the after-school program with local chapters of the Boys & Girls Club in Columbia on multiple occasions, playing basketball and providing mentorship to the community’s youth. He also has been involved with the City of Columbia’s Parks and Recreation Department in a number of different capacities with their youth programs. These programs are held at various times throughout the year and present opportunities for youth to learn something new, serve their communities, refine their skills or network with their peers.
Jahmai Mashack, Tennessee
While at home in the Los Angeles area, Mashack and his family regularly take the time to feed members of the homeless community. In Tennessee, Mashack works with Second Harvest to address the food scarcity crisis. In doing so, he has personally fed over 3,500 people and helped raise over one million dollars. In July 2023, as the culmination of his participation in the 2022-23 VOLeaders Academy program, he went with the group to the Philippines, where the participated in a service and cultural emersion program. Mashack is as a member of V.O.I.C.E., a black student-athlete council for community service. Additionally, through his membership of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, he speaks at schools and churches. Mashack serves as the Vice Chair of the SEC Leadership council and is in his second year as a member of the group. He also represents the SEC on the NCAA Men’s Basketball Oversight Committee’s Student-Athlete Engagement Group.
Tyrece Radford, Texas A&M
“Boots” has created a non-profit organization that focuses on students from kindergarten-to-8th grade and its teachers in Texas and his home state of Louisiana called “TheReceWay Foundation.” Radford’s foundation provides school supplies and shoes for young people each school year. In its first year, “TheReceWay” out-fitted four young people, but has grown to 8-to-10 recipients this year. Additionally, “TheReceWay” began honoring a teacher this school year with a gift package, which was homemade bath soaps and bath salts. Radford recognizes the problem of food insecurity, and his foundation also provides pregame meals for local high school students in Louisiana. Perhaps Radford’s greatest impact came from the simple act of cutting his hair. When he learned in the fall of 2022 that his former academic counselor at Virginia Tech, Alise Svihla, had been diagnosed with Stage 4 colon cancer and chemotherapy was causing hair loss, Radford immediately went to the barber and had his trademark dreadlocks cut off in solidarity with Svihla’s fight. He sent a video of his haircut to Svihla, and she shared his selfless act with the world on social media. While serving as a beacon of hope for Svihla, the video also brought attention to the devastating effects of colon cancer and helped raise more than $30,000 to help cover her medical costs. Later in the 2022-23 season, when the Aggies were wearing special pink uniforms for breast cancer awareness, Radford received permission to put Svihla’s name on the back of his jersey to honor his academic mentor and friend.
Ezra Manjon, Vanderbilt
Ezra Manjon has been an active participant in the community since his arrival in Nashville. Manjon volunteers regularly with Justice Industries, a nonprofit organization which creates social enterprise businesses to provide jobs to individuals who face barriers to employment. He has worked with Justic Industries on opportunities such as Just.Glass, a recycling initiative in the Nashville area which provides opportunities to individuals who face challenges in finding and keeping work such as addiction recovery, mental illness, domestic abuse, generational poverty and criminal history. Manjon has also served with Athletes in Action both in Nashville and previously at UC Davis. With AIA, he has performed outreach ministry to local homeless shelters while also participating in meal service and fellowship. Additionally, Manjon volunteers at Monroe Carrell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt, spending time with patients through numerous pep rallies and events, while also creating cape kits for Halloween costumes in partnership with Turner’s Heroes. He has worked with Special Olympics Tennessee as well, spending time teaching basketball skills and playing with athletes with special needs.