David Colescott was an inspiring and determined leader on the basketball court for the Giants, then at the University of North Carolina, and now in the business world, serving as VP of Sales and Chief Customer Officer for Hanes Brands Inc.
He was a well-known leader during his days at Marion High School, an energetic competitor who worked hard to live up to high expectations — being the father of former Marion Giants basketball coach Jack Colescott (a respected and beloved school and community leader who himself was an honorary inductee into the Marion High School Hall of Distinction in 2018). He led the Giants to state championships in 1975 and 1976, and earned the title of Indiana’s Mr. Basketball, the state’s top individual award for high school basketball players, along with the Trester Award, given for mental attitude — becoming only the second player in the state to earn all three, quite a significant accomplishment.
After graduating from MHS, Mr. Colescott continued to shine on the basketball court at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, where he was the starting point guard on their 1977 NCAA tournament runner-up team, playing for the legendary Coach Dean Smith. It was the camaraderie that he would remember years later, noting after Coach Smith’s death that out of all the lessons he learned from Smith, some of the most important were loyalty and gratitude.
He graduated from UNC with a bachelor’s in education in 1980, and was drafted by the NBA’s Utah Jazz in the same year. However, a severe broken ankle in his rookie season sidelined him. The commitment, leadership, and character he had displayed on the court for so many years served him well in a new arena, though.
He has been with international clothing giant Hanes Brand Inc. for decades, currently serving as Vice President of Sales and Chief Customer Officer. He is also the executive sponsor for Hanes Brand Inc’s African American Business Resource. His humility and character — and, yes, likely his competitive nature too — continue to inspire those around him to strive for excellence.
He has also been active in his community, working with various organizations in and around Winston Salem, N.C., and in his hometown of Marion, including Forsyth County United Way; Davidson County Prison Ministry; the Winston Salem Arts Council; and the IWU Jack and Marjorie Colescott Golf Tournament; and he is President of the Horace Conner Memorial Lance Cracker Fund, which provides food to the Lexington County Backpack Program for students in need. He has also supported the United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation, and has served as a board member for the City of Lexington YMCA, and a member of the Forsyth County Crosby Scholarship Committee.