Outstanding players in Minneapolis and St. Paul

Prep Scene

The 2023 high school basketball season was one to remember, particularly in the St. Paul City and Minneapolis City Conference.

First-year boys’ basketball coach Ricky Davis led Minneapolis North to the City Conference and the Twin Cities championship. Minneapolis’ Roosevelt girls’ basketball coach Tyesha Wright accomplished the same feat for the Teddies. 

In St. Paul, Olonda England led the Como Park girls to the city championship. Colin Moore coached Johnson to the conference crown as well.

Here are four players that caught the eye of this columnist during the season. Each would have gotten this columnist’s vote for City Conference Player of the Year.     

PJ Blakey Jr., 6’2” guard, St. Paul Central—Blakey, an outstanding shooter and defender, was one of the conference’s most consistent players averaging 15.1 points per game—with a season-high of 21—leading the Minutemen to a St. Paul City Conference second-place finish. 

Shania Nichols VanNett, 5’6” senior guard, St. Paul Como Park—VanNett, an outstanding shooter, averaged 19.6 points per game in leading the Cougars to its familiar spot atop the St. Paul City Conference.

Larry Perkins, 6’3” junior guard, Minneapolis North—Perkins, an instant-scorer and leader, led the Polars to their tenth consecutive Minneapolis City Conference title and this season’s Twin Cities championship, averaging a team-high 18.3 points per game, netting a season-high of 26 points twice.

Olivia Wren, 5’10” junior guard, Minneapolis Roosevelt—Wren, an outstanding scorer and defender who reached the 1,000-point mark this season, led the Teddies to the Minneapolis City Conference and Twin Cities championship.