The 22nd Annual Inner City All Star Classic took place last Sunday afternoon, June 14, at Schoenecker Arena on the University of St. Thomas campus. The event featured some of the top senior boys’ and girls’ basketball players in the metro area.
Game summary (girls)
Lyric Williams (Robbinsdale Armstrong) scored 25 points and Kayla Adams (Richfield) added 24 to lead Team Faith to a 57-52 victory over Team Truth, who got 18 points from Chelcie Kizart (St. Paul Central) and 15 from Tayler Toney (DeLaSalle).
The rest of the participants
Team Faith — Dariel Lipscomb (Minneapolis Henry), Kendra Zellner-Smith (Minneapolis Washburn), Anjalle Jones (Minneapolis South), Emma Shepherd (Minneapolis Washburn), Sydni Starling (Bloomington Jefferson), Curtesa Scott (St. Paul Johnson)
Team Truth — Kailey Adams (Richfield), Lexi Lee (Maranatha), Raven DuBois (Breck), Lexus Hughes (Minneapolis South), Lauryn Smith (St. Paul Johnson)
Tamara Moore MVP
Williams, a guard, was named MVP after combing her scoring and playmaking skills.
The MVP award is named after Tamara Moore, a guard who starred at Minneapolis North and led them to their first Class 3A championship in 1998, winning Ms. Basketball that same year. She played four years at the University of Wisconsin before an outstanding career in the WNBA.
Moore also participated in the boys’ game in 1998 — three years before a girls’ game was established in 2001.
Skills Competition Champion
Williams also captured the skills competition.
Kwame McDonald Achievement Award
Scott received the award for the being the player with the highest grade point average (GPA).
Game Summary (boys)
Jarvis Johnson (DeLaSalle) scored 29 points including five three-pointers, teammate Josh Collins (DeLaSalle) added 17, and Sean Burns (Robbinsdale Armstrong) chipped in 12 to lead Team Knowledge to a 97-96 victory over Team Wisdom, who got a team-high 23 points from London Cobbs (Minneapolis Roosevelt), 14 from Chris Buckley (Coon Rapids), and 12 from Darion Butler (School of the Recording Arts).
Johnson, headed to the University of Minnesota in the fall, assisted Adbussel Osaam (St. Paul Academy) with the game-winning layup with three seconds remaining.
The rest of the participants
Team Knowledge — Sid Tomes (East Ridge), Jalen Mobley (St. Paul Johnson), Jerome Dixon (Robbinsdale Armstrong), Mohammed Lawai (Breck), Jacarius Ford (Minneapolis Henry), JoBriel Powell (Minneapolis Washburn), Ramaa Hudnell (Minneapolis Henry), Justus Murphy (St. Paul Johnson), Abdulsalan Osman (St. Paul Academy)
Team Wisdom — Marshawn Wilson (Hill Murray), Eric Elliot (St. Paul Johnson), John Warren (Hopkins), Arione Farrar (Minneapolis Roosevelt), Bryden Matthews (Eagan), Stephen Kennedy (Minneapolis Henry), Marty Hill (Champlin Park)
Derek Reuben MVP
Johnson captured MVP honors with a dominant performance. The award honors Derek Reuben, who along with former Minneapolis North teammate Ralph Crowder established the Inner City All Star Classic in 1994. Reuben starred on the varsity at North from 1985-88, winning Mr. Basketball honors his senior year before moving on to play at Eastern Kentucky.
Skills Competition Champion
Farrar captured the skills competition in dramatic fashion.
Kwame McDonald Achievement Award
Lawai received the award for the being the player with the highest grade point average (GPA).
Anderson watches the action
Former Minneapolis Edison, DeLaSalle, Michigan State and current NBA player Alan Anderson (Brooklyn Nets), one of the sponsors for the Inner City All Star Classic, was in attendance. He participated in the game in 2001.
Mitchell Palmer McDonald welcomes reader responses to mmcdonald@spokesman-recorder.com.