Fresh off an NCAA Tournament berth, Bobby Hurley’s Arizona State Sun Devils are ready to build on the success of 2017. A key player in that development is going to be Luguentz Dort. Don’t know that name? Well, if you follow Pac-10 basketball next year, you will.
Basketball analyst and The Upside host Adam Finkelstein watched Luguentz Dort at the National Prep School Invitational and broke down a player most American basketball fans don’t know.
“Luguentz Dort isn’t eligible for ESPN National National Ranking because he plays in Canada and international players are not included, but he is rated and evaluated as a five star caliber talent,” said Finkelstein. “That puts him at about a Top 25 caliber prospect to give you some sort of indication of the type of player that Arizona State is getting.”
The wait is over… FORKS UP🔱🙏🏾 https://t.co/OhSp874zDW
— Luguentz Dort (@luguentz) October 19, 2017
Dort picked Arizona State primarily because of of his strong relationship with the coaching staff. “It’s really the coaching staff that I really loved over there,” he said. “They’ve been with me since my sophomore year. They were my third offer so that’s really why I chose them.”
Dort models his game after Russell Westbrook and, though there are maybe a handful of people in this world that can match Westbrook’s blend of speed, power and finesse, Luguentz offers a pretty reasonable facsimile. And he’s just scratching the surface.
He is going to be an immediate impact player at Arizona State for sure.
Those rare physical gifts make Dort an extremely compelling prospect, Finkelstein is especially intrigued about his possibilities on the defensive end of the floor.
“I think one of the most intriguing things about him at the next level is his versatility and the potential to play multiple positions. He’s a guy who’s going to be capable of defending one through three and maybe fours on some nights because he’s so powerful and so aggressive. He is going to be an immediate impact player at Arizona State for sure.”
