The City Conference races in boys’ and girls’ basketball—in Minneapolis and St. Paul respectively—are a couple of weeks away from being settled.
Minneapolis North, led by Hall of Fame Coach Larry McKenzie, has already clinched its seventh consecutive City title (the first title was shared with Minneapolis Washburn in 2014).
Junior forward Davon Townley is averaging a team-leading 18.5 points per game, while guard Willie Wilson is scoring 15.8 per contest.
Clifford Brown III, Mario Sanders, Jacob Butler and Quientrail Jamison-Travis play significant supporting roles contributing to the Polars’ recent success.
Of the six previous championships (2014-2019), North captured the Twin City championships in 2016, 2017, and 2018.
In St. Paul, things got interesting after defending City Conference champion Central defeated arch-rival Johnson 71-59 last week to create a first-place tie with the Governors.
Kaden Doram led the way with 18 points, Gavin Gothard added 17, Caron Crowe had 16, and Gedeon Musabyimana chipped in 14.
The Minutemen victory avenged an early-season loss to Johnson, who were led by Jesse Foster with 15 points. Larry Harris had 14, Julian Hodges and Quijuan Lewis each chipped in 11, and Ishmael David added 10 in that contest.
Since 2004, Central, coached by Scott Howell, and Johnson, coached by Vern Simmons, have won or shared the conference crown. If neither team loses another conference game, Johnson will represent in the Twin City game because Central won the title last year.
For the fourth season in a row, it looks as if Minneapolis South and St. Paul Como Park will meet in the annual Twin City game, as each is currently undefeated in league play.
Junior guard Jade Hill is averaging 28.1 per game for South. Her sister Angel Hill averages 13.6 and Amajah Mullins-Carlson 12.6.
Sophomores Ronnie Porter (19.4) and Kaylyn Asberry (15.6) lead Como Park.
Ricky Hill is in his first year as South’s head coach. Alexis Gray-Lawson has been Como Park’s coach since 2015.
Dr. Mitchell Palmer McDonald is a contributing columnist at the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder.