Tyra Buss
Mt. Carmel High School
Impact Statement
Buss excelled both on and off the court at Mr. Carmel and Indiana University.
Biography
The only thing higher than Tyra Buss’ scoring average was her grade point average at Mt. Carmel.
Buss, who maintained a 5.0 GPA on a scale of 5, became Illinois’ all-time leading scorer in girls’ high school basketball during her three-year career. She averaged 45.8 points per game as a senior while shooting 55.4% from the floor on her way to 4,897 career points, which is the second highest in the history of girls’ high school basketball in the United States.
The 5-7 guard also averaged 6.7 steals per game as a senior with 5.5 rebounds per contest and 3.6 assists. Buss, who was Gatorade’s Illinois Player of the Year and a Parade All-American, will attend Indiana University.
Buss is the second Illinois girls’ basketball player to be honored by the NHSCA. Current WNBA player Candace Parker (Naperville High School) of the LA Sparks was the 2004 honoree.
While at Indiana, Buss continued to stand out. She holds records in seven categories including points scored, assists, and steals. She lead the Hoosiers to the 2018 WNIT Championship, where she was named the Most Valuable Player. She was named to the Big Ten’s First Team three times. This feat has only been accomplished by two other players.
Since graduating, Buss spent some time playing overseas in Greece. In July of 2020 Buss was hired as an assistant coach at The University of Evansville.
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