Prospect Spotlight: Dakiah Yates (2022)
An athletic sophomore guard, Parsons 2022 Dakiah Yates is gearing up for a big sophomore season after being a key varsity player as a freshman last season. An aggressive and intense 5’11 wing player, Yates brings a big motor to…
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Continue ReadingAn athletic sophomore guard, Parsons 2022 Dakiah Yates is gearing up for a big sophomore season after being a key varsity player as a freshman last season.
An aggressive and intense 5’11 wing player, Yates brings a big motor to the floor and likes to excel at the defensive end of the court. She likes putting pressure on the ball and disrupting the opposing team.
Last season, Yates averaged 10-15 points per game while playing alongside a deep and talented senior squad.
“It was my first year of High School and my first time playing Varsity so everything was so new,” she says. “I had my good games and I had my bad games. I just wish the season would have ended better than it did. All of us wanted to go to state, especially the seniors.”
Yates says she had a productive offseason running with the Lady Prospects.
“Summer ball for me went really well,” she said. “(Previously) I had been on teams that didn’t take things as serious as the Lady Prospects. I enjoyed playing with new people and traveling places I’ve never been. I think I’m ready for the upcoming season. I think I’ve gotten a lot better at defense and rebounds. I have been working in particular on my attitude and my ball handling.”
Yates says the biggest influence on her basketball career has been her older brother Davonte’ Yates, who was a standout player at Parsons as well.
“He played varsity as a freshman also and he was always the type of person to never give up,” she says. “There’s been times where I’ve wanted to give up but I couldn’t because he was always there to bring me back up.”
Yates says the player she looks up to the most and enjoys watching is Elizabeth Cambage who plays for the WNBAs Las Vegas Aces.
“She has the length (and) she’s tough in the paint, has great defense, even when she’s at her lowest she plays her game still,” Yates says. “I’m 15 and 5’11 and I feel I’m gonna be at least as tall as her. I watch her highlights a lot and I just picture myself in her shoes. I like going to the gym and working on my toughness in the paint.”
Yates says she has not yet heard from many college programs but has received letters from Kansas and Kansas State and has heard from Emporia State.