St. John's fans have not been shy about their affinity for Luguentz Dort's hard-slashing, high-flying game.
The fact that the 6-foot-5, 215-pound widebody puts the same amount of sustained relentlessness on the defensive end only adds to the national appeal.
Though it appears to be a longshot to nab a richer recruit who has Louisville and Florida as front runners, SJU wants nothing more than to sabotage the program's listless recent past and close out a hard sell.
Dort exploded for a game best 33 points against his former school, Arlington Country Day (FL), in an end to end drubbing.
Attacking both sides of the paint while featuring a vastly improved perimeter touch (he would finish with seven 3-pointers), Dort's performance left UNLV assistant Andre Lefleur and Oregon assistant Mike Mennenga very intrigued.
Baylor head coach Scott Drew came to The Conrad School later that week to finally see Dort, on whom he's heaped a scholarship offer.
With TCA head coach Shaun Wiseman imploring his team to show the mental moxie they lacked during a loss to Elijah Weaver and SIAA foe Oldsmar, Dort took leadership responsibilities into his own hands.
Dort's 23 points spearheaded TCA to a four point victory over Potter's House
He poured in buckets on a variety of ways, slicing to the rim with ease.
When he gets that rim in sight, Dort salivates through the eyes. He possesses the natural lift to pull off a dunk few athletes at this level can even simulate.
"He's just a bullish kid, rarely do you see kids with his type of football player make up have this type of impact on this level," TCA head coach Shaun Wiseman said.
"He's a gym rat. There will be nights when we close practice early, yet he's still in the gym or on a holiday he'll be catching rides to the gym to fire up jumpers. He probably won't eat Christmas dinner until he's got his 1000 shots up. Lu is a different, and a discipline kid."
Rick Pitino, Louisville assistant Mike Balado, Florida head coach Mike White, Florida assistant Dusty May, UConn assistant coach Ricky Moore, and a slew of others flocked to see Dort this fall.
St. John's swooped in at the 11th hour and have wasted no time busting out the shed of recruiting tools.
The Johnnie's have a commitment from well traveled 7-foot-2 C Zach Brown, who is now at SIAA foe Calusa Prep.
Brown, the oft-troubled and mercurial prospect, has focused more on establishing his right hand this season.
Once considered one the nation's premier rim protectors, Brown has helped establish a steady inside-outside punch with Calusa's guards.
With the thinning number of bigs and the decent departure of 6-11 Spain native Yankuba Sima, the Johnnie's have a major void in that compartment.
- Impressed with the recent play of freshman guard and local NYC product Shamorie "Slick" Ponds, Dort is anticipating a sit down with Johnnie's assistant Matt Abdelmessih at Conrad's very own Grind Session this week.
Abdelmessih has the clout regarding recruiting. SJU fans are expressing love for the kid they call "Lu" at a furious pace.
