Arkansas Basketball Combine Standouts

The Arkansas Basketball Combine was an invitational camp that featured some of the best players from the Northwest Arkansas area as well a few players from Central Arkansas. This camp tested the players’ athletic ability by having them go through drills off the court to test their agility, speed, and vertical. Then they tested their shooting ability with a couple of shooting drills. After the shooting, the players were split up into teams and played 5 on 5 games. Here are some of the players that stood out to me from the 5 on 5 games. <strong>Julieth Rivera | 2022 | PG | Providence Academy</strong> It didn’t take long to notice the talent that Julieth possesses. She’s a high IQ point guard that plays at a good pace who can also run a team. She communicates well with her teammates. Julieth often gives instructions on where players should be while on offense. She’s tough to defend out of the pick and roll, can shoot it, make plays with either hand, scores in transition, and gets after it on defense. <strong>Reese Shirey | 2024 | CG | Farmington High School</strong> Solid player with a good skill set. Can use her dribble to create space to get to her spots for the pull-up jumper. When pushing it in transition she has good vision to make the right play. Defensively she has a good understanding of where to be in help in relation to the ball. <strong>Ivorionna Johnson | 2023 | Bentonville West High School</strong> One of the most impressive players at the combine. She played hard from the opening tip of the first game to the buzzer of the last game. Ivorionna is always looking to attack to make plays for herself or her teammates. She showed she can finish in transition through contact. Gave great effort with her on-ball defense. <strong>Ella Wise | 2023 | Wing | Thaden School</strong> Ella is a threat from behind the three-point line. You have to pick her up early because she’s a player that doesn’t need to be right on the high school three-point line. She can easily shoot from the college three and at a good clip. She’s also good in transition with her vision and finishing. <strong>Keller Bingham | 2022 | Post/Forward | Warren High School</strong> I’ve seen Keller play a few times over the summer and every time I see her play I know what to expect. A player that is going to play hard, not complain about touches, bad calls, or playing time. She’s going to play strong, through contact, and run the floor hard in transition. She makes straight-line drives to the basket and shoots the jumper. Defensively she forces the offense to take tough contested shots. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="422372" first="Anna" last="Imbo"] | 2024 | Wing | Providence Academy</strong> During the shooting portion of the combine, Anna put her shooting ability on full display. She got hot and made three after three after three. That shooting skill followed her on the court during 5 on 5 games. Anna was solid in transition. Whether she was running the lanes and getting to her spot for the catch and shoot or finishing at the rim, she was someone that had to be accounted for. Defensively she wasn’t a slouch either. Giving good effort as a primary defender she made the offense work to get anything done. <strong>Brooke Smith | 2023 | Siloam Springs High School</strong> Brooke is a post/forward but possesses some guard skills. She could play with or without the ball. There were several instances she would pass and then cut to the basket for a finish. When she did have the ball she could handle it really well. She was able to change directions and keep other posts/forwards off balance. She could also shoot the three and keep you out of the lane when defending on the ball. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="331413" first="Carlee" last="Casteel"] | 2023 | Rogers Heritage High School</strong> This combo guard was a tough player. She played hard on both ends of the floor and would always give her best effort no matter who she was playing against. She could break the defense down off the dribble and get to the rim for the finish with either hand. She was a crafty finisher in transition, could make the three-ball, and was a good defender on or off the ball.