2020 Duel States Girls Combine MS Tip Sheet
DALLAS, TEXAS- The Duel States Girls Combine just kept the ball rolling as far as Individual Showcase I have covered this season, and the amount new faces that showed next-level potential to #D1Locks always places a smile on my face and when you factor in this was a 2-day event, you got much more than a meaningless $400 camp especially when you factor in the educational portion. Several things were touched upon and I made a statement “these are things you should already know or have been taught” to the high school group yet the girls game has changed over the years so my suggestion was, as it is at every camp or showcase I cover, implement what you were taught and work on your game every chance you get so I’m starting with the middle school group
2025
Katelyn Evans-F
Evans continues to amaze me after I said she was a #D1Lock in the 3rd grade but what really impressed me was seeing her battle against the high school girls not to leave out her basketball IQ. She’s strong and finishes after contact and this is in the paint after rebounding but she also took defenders off the dribble and dropped the midrange over and over, plus she defended well
Alaysia Gude-G (Waco United 2025)
Gude made my Tip Sheet the first time I saw her in the 5th grade and she did so many things that impressed me that I spoke about her upside. She’s fast with the ball and under control always has been but she’s making tough passes look easy-going full speed for assists as well as taking defenders to the rim at will with the crossover and change of pace. She creates her shot, under pressure and her defense is smothering
Tynia Minnitt-G (Waco United 2025)
Minnitt showed me I a couple of minutes what I was looking at the first time I saw her because she has blazing speed, with the ball, and when you have that and you are under control, that is an intangible that will take you far, so watching her blow defenders in the open court as well as hitting the stop and pop tells me a lot about what’s coming, not t mention her ability to see the floor as well as applying heat on the defensive end
Blythe Crawley-PG (Oklahoma Express)
Crawley gave me a very good first look on opening day and I teased her with “Oklahoma is still OK” but she attacks so strong and relishes the contact, and one waiting to happen, but she also can shoot it, mid to long-range and watching her create her shot under pressure was nice and when you throw in she already has a solid pull-up jumper, be aware of what’s coming
Christina Ybarra-P/F (Oak Cliff Lady Jackets)
Ybarra took me back to yesteryear with her #THROWBACK mentality of “you won’t outwork me” and keep in mind these middle school players were teamed with HS ballers so her athleticism and desire just was over the top as she mixed it up nicely with good hands and footwork, good upside
Kirsten Hartman-PG/SG (San Antonio Aces)
Hartman is a heady point guard that understands how to run a team and control the tempo, at this stage, that’s big because once you “get it” everything else can fall into place but watching her handle the ball well against the older players showing “no fear” is another solid sign. She sees the floor and can take defenders off the dribble but she can also create her shot and knock it down consistently
Madison Borjas-PG (CBA Lady Diamonds)
Borjas is just popping up everywhere I am and let me say this, size doesn’t matter when you can play and watching her attack the rim and score, with either hand just had me dropping my pen, the mic was not available, but she sees the floor and handles the ball under pressure, showed the HEZ, hesitation and just got after it but aside from her scrappiness, she shot the long ball extremely well
E’Mani Atchison-SG
Atchison already understands how to attack the basket strongly, she did it numerous times and finished after the lick but she also goes hard on the defensive end. She’s athletic, handles the ball well, and creates her shot under pressure and that combination helped because she got wherever she wanted for the pull-up jumper
2026
BreAnna Breland-G/F (Lady Soarers)
Breland uses her athleticism very well and her mindset of not being denied had me smiling as she battled older players for the ball but she also attacked the basket from various angles and finished after contact plus she understands how to create her shot which she knocked down from midrange
Aundrea Walter-PG
Walter falls into that “heady point guard” group I speak about over and over and trust me, watching her see the floor while being defended against seasoned high school players told me a lot but other than dropping dimes, she attacks the basket and gets to the rim ad that says a lot about her athleticism
Chanel Shuler-P (Pro Skills 2026)
Shuler was wearing my daughter’s number and that caught my eye immediately since I didn’t recognize her yet her growth spurt, yes another one, had me scratching my head but her progression really had me going. She’s over “the magic number” of 6’0, she catches and finishes, has good footwork and she rebounds strong but when you add, she runs the floor and showed she could face the basket and score, her upside is unlimited
Lily King-PF (Waco United)
King showed signs of being a Queen on the court with her not only creating her shot but making it, both under pressure but pressure doesn’t faze her one bit as she battles for rebounds, on both ends of the court and does a good job on defense, keep in mind there were situations when she guarding high schoolers
Jaclyn Siva-PG (Pro Skills 2026)
Silva joins that “heady” group of young point guards that are ahead of the game and on opening day, she just created and knocked down shots galore with a nice pull-up jumper as well as attacked the basket but on day 2, she ran the one more, understood when to push it and when not to but she saw the floor very well
Jakayla Brown-G
Brown’s upside is really something that just jumps out at me, she’s mature on the floor and blended in with the HS players as she didn’t mind the physicality as she battled for everything plus she played strong defense, inside or on the perimeter but she’s also strong with the ball and showed she could finish
Jakarya Brown-G
Brown showed a very strong “change of pace” with the ball in the open court and that is huge at this stage because it gave her several opportunities on what she could do, well she saw the floor and made the right passes and she attacked the rim but her defense was overly impressive has good timing and came up with several steals
Promise Wright-G
Wright saw the floor well, always a plus but her athletic ability helped her in several aspects like she understood how to create off the dribble to attack the basket and she also showed she could create her shot under pressure, that’s mid to long-range but she also has plenty of upside remaining