Alex Gross and Imani Guy towered over their opponents in high school, and even in college, they’re still usually the tallest players on the basketball court.
This week, the Bartholomew County natives who are playing at the NAIA level picked up major awards from their respective conferences.
The 6-foot-10 Gross, an Olivet Nazarene junior from Hauser, is the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference Player of the Year. The 6-4 Guy, a Marian senior from Columbus North, is the Crossroads League Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year.
“I was super excited when my coach told me I was getting this award,” Guy said. “We broke a Marian record with 14 awards in one year, so it was a great feeling knowing that people are seeing what we are doing and recognizing us.”
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Guy leads the Knights with 15.3 points, 8.2 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game. She led Marian to a 16-0 record in the Crossroads League regular season.
The Knights fell to Indiana Wesleyan in the conference tournament title game, but still received a No. 1 seed and a first-round bye in the NAIA Division II Women’s Tournament. They will host a second-round game March 13, and if they win, would advance to play in Sioux City, Iowa.
“I’m happy with the year I’ve had so far, but we’re not done yet,” Guy said. “We still have five more games I want to play in. I have my awards, but now, it’s time to be a great player during this time of season. I know we lost to Indiana Wesleyan, but that showed us what we need to work on. We’ll have had 10 days to get ready, so I feel confident.”
Meanwhile, Gross was unanimous pick as CCAC Player of Year after leading Olivet to a 15-4 record and a third consecutive regular-season conference title.
“It was pretty exciting,” Gross said. “It’s just a great honor. It felt really good. Personal goals, you just keep them in the back of your mind. I don’t talk about them too much, but in the back of my mind, that was one that I kind of wanted to win. It’s fun to see when you work so hard and get recognized by other conference coaches. It just feels good.”
A first-team All-CCAC and NAIA Division II honorable mention All-America selection last year, Gross ranks second in NAIA with 3.9 blocks and 9.05 defensive rebounds a game and is third in total blocks with 75. He leads the Tigers with 21.5 points, 11.6 rebounds and 4.6 assists a game.
Gross led Olivet with 24 points, seven rebounds and seven assists in the CCAC Tournament championship game, but the Tigers fell to IU-South Bend on a last-second 3-pointer.
“It’s been a pretty awesome season, definitely one of my favorites so far,” Gross said. “I’m just grateful we got to play. Our first part of the season got canceled, but we got to come back and play 20 games. I got to play with my best friends again, which was really fun.”
Olivet received a No. 2 seed for the NAIA Division II Men’s Tournament and will play No. 3-seed Indiana Tech Friday at Indiana Wesleyan. The winner will take on No. 1-seed Marian on March 13, also at Indiana Wesleyan.
“I’m pretty excited for the opportunity,” Gross said. “Not many teams get to go to the national tournament. We have a really good group of experienced guys. We average around 90 points, so I think we can hang with almost anybody. We kind of play an inside-out game, and I think that will be beneficial. We’ve had a lot of success playing in that system this year. If we just do what we do best, I think we can hang with anybody.”
