Basketball awards banquets aren’t typically part of the August sports calendar. But on Aug. 20, The City League (TCL) faithful gathered on the near east side for the 3rd annual TCL Honors Awards Banquet.
TCL Honors is designed to bring a fitting end to seven weeks of basketball and community activities that happen each summer at Arsenal Tech High School. This year’s celebration was hosted inside our city’s second oldest gymnasium at Woodruff Place Baptist Church,built in 1926.
It was a summer of firsts in Indianapolis’ top adult summer basketball tournament.
After three years of coming up painfully short, Ben Davis legends — state champions and sisters Bria and DeAirra Goss — won their first TCL title. They led their Horizon League team to a 7-1 record, dominating the women’s side of TCL from June 27 – Aug. 8.
On the men’s side, the team representing Prudential went undefeated all summer, running off seven straight games. They became the first men’s champions since 2017 to have a roster that didn’t include any players who participated at the NCAA division I level.
The MVPs on both sides came from the championship teams. For the first time, they both won state titles while in high school. 2017 IHSAA Boys Basketball 3A State Champion Zac Owens of Crispus Attucks won the MVP on the men’s side.
Bria Goss picked up her second MVP award while leading her team to their first title. Goss was a two-time State Champion at Ben Davis, winning in ’09 and ’10. Bria was also the 2011 Indiana Miss Basketball and named a McDonalds All-American before heading to the University of Kentucky. She still plays professionally overseas.
On the men’s side, First Team All – TCL:
- Zac Owens (Prudential)
- Marquis Teague (Mambos Cheesesteak Grill)
- Zavier Turner (Indy Black Professionals)
- Jomel Boyd (Prudential)
- Darius Adams (Mambos Cheesesteak Grill).
On the women’s side, First Team All- TCL:
- Bria Goss (Horizon League)
- Ally Becki (Damien Center)
- DeAirra Goss (Horizon League)
- Porchia Green (Catch the Stars Foundation)
- Yemiyah Morris (Horizon League).
Defensive Players of the Year: DeAirra Goss (Horizon League) and Justin Thomas (MELI)
Newcomers of the Year: Yemiyah Morris (Horizon League) and Jordan Walker (Indy Black Professionals)
Scoring Champions: Yemiyah Morris – 18.8 PPG (Horizon League) and Dionte Raines -27.0 PPG (Midwest Cash Offer)
Austin Taylor is the executive director of The City League. Contact him at ataylor@thecityleague.org. For more news courtesy of the Indianapolis Recorder, visit our homepage.
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