Inner City All-Star Classic to be held at North High

The Inner City All-Star Classic will be played Sunday, May 7 at Minneapolis North High School.

Isaac Johnson (Minneapolis North), McKinley Wright IV (Champlin Park), and Jericho Sims (Cristo Ray) will headline the boys’ game while the girls’ contest will feature Mykayla Hayes (Park Center) and DeAnna Winston (Hopkins).

Larry McKenzie (Minneapolis North) and Rob Mestas (Minneapolis Roosevelt) will coach the boys’ game.

The girls will be led by coaches Crystal Flint (Minneapolis North) and Tanysha Scott (DeLaSalle).

Johnson, a shooting guard headed to Western Illinois University, led the Polars to back-to-back Class 1A state titles. Wright — a point guard who was named Mr. Basketball — led Rebels to a second-place finish in the Class 4A. Simms, a high-scoring guard this past season, will attend for the University of Texas next year.

Hayes, a forward who led the Pirates to four consecutive state tournament appearances —  including a couple of Class 3A state titles during her freshman and sophomore seasons — is headed to the University of Florida. Winston, the point guard who led the Royals to three consecutive Class 4A state tournament appearances, will play at Sienna next year.

McKenzie is a Hall of Fame coach who just led North to its second-straight state championship. Mestas was Minnesota’s Mr. Basketball in 1995 and played at the University of Miami-Ohio before coming back to coach at his alma mater.

Flint, a former University of Minnesota boys’ basketball great, was one of the top high school referee officials in the state before taking on her current role as the head coach for the Polars. Scott was one of the state’s best players when she graduated from DeLaSalle during the early 2000s. She went on to an outstanding career at the University of Minnesota before a successful coaching stint at Minneapolis South.

The girls’ game tips off at 3 pm followed by the boys at 5 pm.

The games’ coordinator is Derek Rueben. Rueben was the 1988 Mr. Basketball winner while playing at Minneapolis North. He went on to play at Eastern Kentucky.

Mitchell McDonald Palmer welcomes reader responses to mmcdonald@spokesman-recorder.com.