Lionel Simmons, Isaiah “Bunny” Wilson, Maurice “Mo” Howard, Geoffrey Arnold, Nate Blackwell, Kamal Yard, Amauro Austin and Paul Gripper have come together to establish some annual awards and a scholarship to benefit Philadelphia Public League basketball players. The inaugural recipients of the Claude Gross Award (Best Player in the Public League, Tee Parham Award (Best Player Under 6 Feet), Ray Scott Award (Best Center/Power Forward and the 1st Claude Gross Scholarship Recipient are listed below. These awards are intended to highlight the outstanding performance of today’s players while preserving the legacy of yesterday’s greats.

The awards will be given during a ceremony at the historic Palestra on April 8, 2017. Congratulations to the recipients on their fine seasons and wonderful accomplishments.