Prep Scene
This week’s column tells the stories of two metro-area boys basketball coaches who led their teams in a nonconference game, two former metro-area girls basketball stars competing at the collegiate level, and a historical look at some of the best players ever at a school known for its success in boys and girls basketball.
Tuesday, December 12, 2023: Coaches lead metro-area teams
Coaches Colin Moore (St. Paul Johnson Governors) and Ahmil Jihad (Minneapolis Edison Tommies) were on hand as their teams competed in a boys basketball game last week at Johnson High School.
The Governors won the non-conference showdown 76-60.
Sophomore forward Kenneth Turner led Johnson with 20 points, while senior guard Dhamani Tucker added 19 for the defending St. Paul City Conference champions.
The Tommies were led by the guard tandem of junior Sam Young, who led the way with a game-high 21 points, and senior Deidrick Taylor, who contributed 20.
Wednesday, December 13, 2023: Two former metro prep stars compete
Former St. Paul Como Park girls’ basketball great Ronnie Porter (University of Wisconsin Badgers) and Jade Hill (University of St. Thomas Tommies), who starred for Minneapolis South as a student-athlete, matched up as their teams squared off in a nonconference women’s basketball game last week at UST.
Porter, who was a walk-on for the Badgers last season following an outstanding prep career, is now the team’s starting point guard.
Hill, herself an outstanding player during her high school career and currently a junior, is in the Tommies’ starting lineup.
Wisconsin, a member of the Big Ten Conference, defeated Summitt League Conference member St. Thomas 78-55.
History lesson: Minneapolis North’s Mr. and Miss Basketball legacy
Part of the legacy of Minneapolis North High School girls’ and boys’ basketball is on display for all to see when attending a game. The Polars have produced four Mr. Basketball winners and two players who were named Miss Basketball for the state of Minnesota.
The boy winners include Redd Overton (1980), Brett McNeal (1985), Derek Reuben (1988), and Khalid El-Amin (1997), while Tamara Moore (1998) and Mauri Horton (1999) represent the girls who captured the award.
Banners representing the winners are draped on the school’s gymnasium walls.
Overton led North to the Class AA title in 1980. McNeal led them to runner-up AA finishes in ‘84 and ’85. Reuben helped them earn a fourth-place AA finish in ‘86, and with El-Amin, state titles came in ‘95, ’96, and ’97.
Moore led the Polars to their first-ever girls’ basketball title at the Class AAA level in 1998, and Horton duplicated the feat in ‘99.
Quite the legacy.