Louisville and Florida appear to be the front runners in hotly pursued Luguentz Dort's recruitment. A Class of 2018 guard at The Conrad Academy (FL), Dort's blend of confrontational defense and innate scoring ability has both schools salivating over the Canada-bred playmaker.
Baylor and Oregon are the other schools showing the most consistent interest in the 6-foot-4, 215-pound combination guard. Dort additionally holds offers from Arizona State, Missouri, Oklahoma, and a host of others.
"I'm going to cut it down to five schools probably during the summer," said Dort, who visited Louisville two weeks ago and will visit Florida this weekend.
"The visit to Louisville was great. I actually spent a lot of time hanging out with Donovan Mitchell and V.J. King. It was pretty cool. They're real nice guys and I've kept in touch with them since. The practice facility and everything is only five minutes away from the door, so it is pretty neat. It's a big University but everything is close by."
Regarded as an underrated defender and built like a blacksmith, Dort has the physical and instinctive attributes that would appeal to a defense-rich program of Louisville's caliber. Similar to the aforementioned Mitchell, Dort is a high-character recruit with electrifying finishing acumen.
Dort was initially supposed to visit Florida last month, but a brief hurricane postponed his plans. He said he would likely visit Baylor during the winter.
"The coaching staff at Florida, they were all guards as players and they know how to mold guards as a program," said Dort, who has built a relationship with head coach Mike White and assistant Dusty May the past few months.
"They play fast, they play an uptempo type of system and they give their guards a lot of freedom to score the ball and lead a lot of the time. I'm definitely looking forward to the visit and seeing them practice Saturday morning. So I'll see them this weekend."
Though he has no timetable, Dort projects he'll have a decision made by the summer.
"I see myself deciding this summer or before my senior year starts, during the early fall," Dort said.
Few have ascended the rankings at the same rate as Dort. At the start of last season, he was a little-known prospect at an Arlington Country Day (FL) that finished in the middle of the pack. His open-floor scoring and ability to convert turnovers into points quickly garnered notice.
A hard-driving and oft-attacking threat, Dort increased his outside shooting and developed a dependable mid-deep range jumper this season. After shooting 11-for-23 from 3-point land in Vegas, his high-major interest took off.
"Lou is an elite level athlete--vertically explosive, strong, and laterally quick," said Brad Traina, who has played a major role propelling the development of TCA's roster.
"He can guard a point guard and finish in the lane and through defenders. He's currently a high-major basketball talent. His ceiling will be determined by how consistent he is able to shoot the ball from deep and mid-range at the college and pro level, where there will be 7-footers waiting for him at the rim."