YORK, Pa. — York High seniors Ciarra Gibbs and Juelz Tucker are not only two of the top high school basketball players in the district and state, but also two of the best in the country.
That is apparent with their McDonalds All-American nominations for the best girls and boys high school players.
It's one of the highest honors possible, and their nomination amongst the 724 seniors means that much more to them coming from inner-city York.
"It felt good that we both came from inner-city schools and we both got nominated," said Gibbs. "So it’s a really good feeling." His fellow Bearcat echoed her sentiment as well. "Being from a small town or a small 'bad' town it’s a good thing to get something positive out of it," said Tucker. "We are showing the young ones that you can make something positive no matter your circumstance."
Gibbs and Tucker aren't just skilled on the court, they're good friends as well. Once the nominations were announced it was nothing but jubilation for both.
"I saw him in school and he was just so happy that we both got it as a female and male," said Gibbs. "So it feels good."
"Our families have known each other for a long time," said Tucker. "So we were just congratulating each other, I said, 'Let's keep this going. We are from the 717 so we got to keep it going.'"
While each is gearing up to lead their respective Bearcat teams as far as they can go, they will wait for the final results which will be announced on ESPN on January 23rd.