Mike Cagley, Co-Host IlliniGuys Sports Spectacular

May 19, 2025

Dylan Mingo from Memphis EYBL 2025 courtesy Mike Cagley IlliniGuys

I had the opportunity to watch a couple of games featuring the PSA Cardinals and their Top 10 2026 recruit Dylan Mingo. Mingo is a 6'5" guard who has the ability to play point and off guard. His height is not an exaggeration. He's a true 6'5" in shoes. He is build is thin but no a skinny thin, more of a lean muscle thin.

He had two excellent games in a huge 25-point win against MeanStreets and a five-point loss to the NY Rens that I was able to watch.

Against Meanstreets, Mingo had 21 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 turnovers, and 3 steals. Against the Rens, Mingo had 24 points, 8 rebounds, an assist, 4 turnovers with 1 steal.

• Shot - Mingo has a nice 3-point shot with a quick release. Occasionally, he can be rushed and palms the ball a bit. He does have long range, confidence in his shot and he doesn't settle for long threes very often.
• Ball handling - Mingo is quick with the ball and uses his crossover dribble for devastating results. He attacks the lane and gets to the basket with regularity. What makes him different is he more than willing to dish the ball, particularly outside for open threes if he finds a teammate open. And he does find them open. With better shooting from teammates, he could've easily doubled his assists for the two games. The negative is his turnovers come from these drives as well. He can dribble into trouble - especially if he picks up his dribble when double teamed.
• Rebounding - Mingo is willing to go into the paint and fight for boards. He's thin but doesn't let that slow him down from banging for position.
• On ball defense - Mingo can stay in front of even very quick guards. He uses his length coupled with his quickness prevent ball penetration from his man. In fact, in the backcourt, he stripped guards three different times. Twice, he stole the ball from guards after PSA teammates missed layups. He effectively turned the disappointment of empty possessions into quick scores after the missed bunnies.
• Off ball defense - like many high school stars, Mingo is considerably better at guarding his man than he is at playing help defense. There were at least three different occasions that he ended up watching instead of helping his teammate when they were beaten off the dribble. This is fixable but clearly not a lot of expectations have been set for this behavior - at least during AAU season.
• Intangibles - Mingo is willing to take the ball in crucial situations. He rarely is subbed out for - he's on the floor for most of the game. He takes the losses hard. He clearly does not like to lose.

Mingo displays many of the traits fans enjoyed from former Illini Ayo Dosunmu. Both are leaders on their teams. Both have wiry strength. Mingo is fast. Mingo is not afraid to compete. With Mingo's build, there is even a bit of resemblance physically to Ayo as well. That's not bad company to keep.

For those who follow recruiting, Mingo reminds me a bit of Top 35 guard DaKari Spear. Spear is built the same, but only 6'4". Spear shoots a bit better from the outside but drives as effectively. Spear doesn't have quite the same level of ball handling, but they are reminiscent of one another. Essentially, Mingo is a bigger and more talented version of Spear.