Arizona State Basketball: Luguentz Dort emerges as elite freshman star

Arizona State Basketball knew they had a star on their hands when Luguentz Dort arrived on campus. But not even the Sun Devils knew how elite he’d be early on as a freshman.

On a cold winter morning in early 2018 I walked into The Murray Center at Rhode Island College in Providence, Rhode Island for the National Prep School Invitational. As a couple of European based teams opened the tournament in the early hours of the day, more and more people trickled in. College coaches, NBA scouts, executives…plenty of familiar faces and logos sewed onto their shirts. And they were there for one person above all else; Luguentz Dort.

I waited anxiously for the imposing Canadian guard to take the court. During the wait, I did my research and saw where he was headed and where he fell in the rankings.

A bit confused, I didn’t get why so many NBA teams were there to see a 4-star kid who was going to a high major team, but not one the likes of a Duke or Kentucky. Then he began playing.

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By now we all know the figure Dort carries; 6’4″, 215 lbs on a basketball court catches your eye.

While he didn’t dominate, he showed just why there was a buzz around the young man from Montreal, Canada.

The following day I found myself telling my friend about the two players who caught my eye, one being Luguentz Dort and another being a deceivingly skilled big man named Ignas Brazdeikis.

Once I revisited Dort’s profile I started noticing his vaunted rankings. A consensus 4-star recruit, Dort held a composite ranking of 94th in the country. The same guy currently averaging 22 points, 6.3 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game for a nationally ranked program was hardly in the Top-100 rankings for the class of 2018?

Simply put, players such as Luguentz Dort are teaching us to not be slaves to where the pundits rank a player when they are 16, 17 or even 18 years old. Talent evaluation is an imperfect science.

Currently Top-10 in the major statistical categories in the Pac-12, the Luguentz Dort experience has proven to be fruitful for Bobby Hurley and his Sun Devils.

Proving to be more than just off to a good start, the numbers are telling a story for Dort. He has quickly become the main focus for the Arizona State offense and takes 31.7% of the team’s shots, good for 61st in the country tells the story of just how important he is.

At 103.9, Dort’s Offensive Rating places him sixth in the country among Freshman ranking behind Zion Williamson, RJ Barrett, Bol Bol, Xavier Johnson, and Antoine Davis.

With December creeping by and conference play looming, less and less should we look at the emergence of Luguentz Dort as a surprise and accept his stay in the box score as everyday fact and just sit back and watch the show.

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So next time your team doesn’t land a Top-5, Blue Chip, can’t miss player and settle for someone lower in the rankings then don’t fret, because he could be another Luguentz Dort just waiting to make star-ratings look silly.

And getting a Luguentz Dort caliber player is a very good thing.

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