By ZACH SMART
Luguentz Dort leaked out with a full head of steam and finished a left-handed layup, the go-ahead bucket in The Conrad Academy’s 49-47 win over Tech Academy in Kentucky.
In a memorable matchup, the oft-slashing 6-foot-3 215-pound guard barreled to the rim throughout, bullying his way to 24 points and Game MVP honors. Dort, as potent and multi-layered an athlete as there is on this level, turned in several hard drives and thunderous dunks along the baseline during a dizzying second half.
A bit on the demure side (both on the court and off it), Dort even exchanged hostilities with Tech Academy’s 6-11 Matur Makar. The two were separated at one point, heightening the battle between two of Canada’s elite during Grind Session’s Mustang Madness in Paducah, Ky.
The sky-walking Dort is averaging 25.3 points this past week, the featured scorer of Shaun Wiseman’s uptempo first-year program in Orlando.
A native of Montreal, Dort rattled off Louisville, Baylor, Florida, Oregon and UNLV as the most consistent programs in his recruitment. He saw one of the nation’s best rivalries in witnessing Louisville’s 73-70 victory over Kentucky back in December and enjoyed rubbing elbows with Donovan Mitchell, V.J. King, and Deng Adel.
Still, there is no indication that Louisville is the favorite.
“I’m not going to know where I end up for a while now,” said Dort.
“I plan on visiting UNLV next but there is nothing scheduled yet. Right now I’m just taking it day by day and I won’t make a decision without discussing it with Nelson (Osse) and (Director of Brookwood Elite) Joey Mckitterick and arriving at the best decision. It is a blessing to have both of those guys in my corner.”
UNLV jumped into Dort’s recruitment last month, with assistant coach Andre LaFleur witnessing the wide-bodied combo guard drop 33 points on Arlington Country Day (his former school) at their bandbox gym in Jacksonville, FL.
Oregon assistant Mike Mennenga was also on hand for that one, as the Ducks have been recruiting Dort since he was an unheralded sophomore point guard at Arlington Country Day.
Playing under the aforementioned Nelson Osse in the Adidas Summer Championships, Dort improved his beyond-the-arc acumen. He connected on 11-for-23 from 3-point range in the Adidas summer nationals in Vegas, though he’s still trying to develop a more consistent jumper.
“Right now becoming a better free throw shooter and having a dependable jumper, that’s where my focus is,” said the drive-first Dort. “I know I can’t rely just on taking the ball to the rim. I’m also working on making dishes inside and drawing the defense in on drives and then passing it off.”
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