Tuesday, September 13, 2016

Louisville The Latest To Offer Luguentz Dort





Surging to the rim with relative ease, blowing past a number of defenders, and showcasing a polished shooting touch, it wasn't hard to see the threat Class of 2018 guard Luguentz Dort poses for defenses.

At The Conrad Academy in Orlando on Monday night, Dort put his various tools on display before Louisville head coach Rick Pitino and assistant Mike Balado.

 Dort, out of Canada, left the gym with another scholarship. Florida and Oregon appear to be front runners for the oft-attacking junior, who authored a breakout sophomore campaign en route to catapulting his way into the nation's "who's who" of unsigned prospects.

"Anytime a coach like Rick Pitino pays you a visit, I mean he is a Hall of Fame coach so it is special," Dort said.

"For him to talk with me and tell me about Louisville basketball and the history of Louisville basketball, it's great. I probably won't forget it ever. I am appreciative."

Dort registered his presence on the national recruiting market last season at Arlington Country Day in Jacksonville, Fla.

 Partly at head coach Shaun Wiseman's decision to take his basketball program to The Conrad Academy and partly at the opportunity to play alongside 6-foot-11 Auburn-commit Austin Wiley, Dort  transferred.

"Coach Wiseman's system is pretty fast-paced and that's the style I've learned to love," Dort said.

"I'm a get the ball and go type of guy and his system gives me the ability to make plays and get up and down the floor."

Oklahoma, Baylor, Arizona State, Missouri, Florida, Virginia, Oregon, and Louisville have all heaped scholarship offers on the bullish 6-foot-4, 215-pound guard.

Kansas, which expressed interest in Dort over the summer, is expected to offer.

"I have a great relationship with coach (Dusty) May at Florida and I'm looking forward to visiting there and seeing the Gators football game on Oct.7," Dort explained.

"I'm going to schedule an unofficial visit to Oklahoma and talk with coach (Lon) Kruger. I'm pretty much wide open."

This summer, working thoroughly under AAU coach Nelson Osse, Dort worked at improving his 18-foot jumper and developing a consistent 3-point shot.

 His increased beyond-the-arc game was evident during his stay in Las Vegas.

"I've just put more focus into that," Dort said. "I was up on the shooting gun getting about 600-800 shots up before my workouts. I've made my release quicker and the shot I have now just works a lot better."

Wiley, who played in the  storied Elite 24 game this summer (being named one of several MVPs), is one of the nation's top-tier bigs in the Class of 2017. Dort said he was excited about the prospect of establishing an inside-outside tandem and taking a start-up program and potentially giving it some national credibility.

Wiley said that he's looking to add to his arsenal of post moves and increase his face-up game, aspects he's worked at under trainer and Conrad's player development director Brad Traina.