Arizona State G Luguentz Dort goes ‘all-in’ entering 2019 NBA Draft
Apr 10, 2019, 9:06 AM | Updated: 9:15 am
Arizona State's Luguentz Dort (0) drives against St. John's Marvin Clark II, center, during the first half of a First Four game of the NCAA men's college basketball tournament Wednesday, March 20, 2019, in Dayton, Ohio. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)
(AP Photo/John Minchillo)
Arizona State freshman guard Luguentz Dort told ESPN’s Jonathan Givony on Wednesday that he will hire an agent and is “all-in” on heading to the 2019 NBA Draft.
Dort tweeted out a statement thanking ASU for his year spent in Tempe.
Thank you to everyone who has helped me get this far. I’m excited to start the next chapter of my life. #SunDevilForLife
Merci aux personnes qui m’ont toujours supporté, sans vous je ne serai pas rendu si loin. Je suis excité de commencer ce nouveau chapitre de ma vie. #Montreal pic.twitter.com/NjZAtxbxR2
— Luguentz Dort 🇭🇹 (@luguentz) April 10, 2019
The Pac-12 Freshman of the Year averaged 16.1 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game for Bobby Hurley’s Sun Devils and also earned Second Team All-Pac-12 honors.
At 6-foot-4 and 215 pounds, Dort appeared to be a one-and-done candidate from the day he set foot on ASU’s campus as a four-star recruit from Montreal, Quebec. He scored 28 points and grabbed nine rebounds in his first game in college, against Cal State Fullerton, recorded a career-high 33 points weeks later in a win over Utah State and after a dip in production during the middle of the year turned in a strong finish to the regular season.
Dort, however, struggled for much of the postseason, shooting worse than 40 percent from the floor in three of four Pac-12 and NCAA Tournament games, the exception being a 21-point First Four win over St. John’s.
RELATED STORIES
The shooting guard shot 40.5 percent on the season and just 30.7 percent from three-point range and 70 percent from the foul stripe. He also turned it over 2.9 times per game.
Dort has defensive upside. His athleticism and physicality led him to 1.5 steals per game, and his aggression on that end could translate well to the next level.
While he proved he has the handles and passing tools to improve, Dort could improve his shot selection and pick his spots to attack better. While his rim attacking led to getting to the foul stripe 6.1 times per game, Dort was often out of control, charging into defenders and earning offensive fouls, taking contested shots or failing to pass out of a drive when defenses collapsed.
Dort is currently listed by ESPN as the 27th-best prospect who could declare for the 2019 NBA Draft.
