6-1 PG Lavonte Dority visited USF

[Velcro]

Finally some good news! 

Can't wait for the season to start so we can see the new guys and get a feel for how good our starting 5 will be.

[Vega]

http://ilprepbullseye.com/page9.html

Lavonte Dority Chooses Big East Program

October 25, 2009

11:00 P.M. CST

Lavonte Dority, the 6'2 guard from Foreman High School in Chicago has verbally committed to the University Of South Florida.  Dority chose the Bulls over offers from New Mexico and Baylor.

Dority took an unofficial visit to South Florida the weekend of October 17-18 and attended their Midnight Madness festivities.  Not only was he impressed with the campus atmosphere, but he also hit it off with Bulls head coach Stan Heath and the rest of the coaching staff.  From that point on Dority knew that Tampa was the place for him.

While the love that the contingent at South Florida showed Dority at Midnight Madness certainly helped close the deal, the ultimate factors in Dority's decision were being able to get away from home and play in a warm weather climate, as Dority had had enough of Chicago winters.  There was also the realization that South Florida offers him the chance to receive immediate playing time in one of the best conferences in college basketball in the Big East.

Dority first began carving a reputation as one of the premier guards in Illinois from the class of 2010 during the spring and summer prior to his sophomore year at Foreman.  As a result, he also received heavy recruiting interest from other programs in the Big East, Big 12 and Big Ten.

Above everything else, Dority has a toughness and a swagger about him that is reminiscient of another Chicago high school product--current University Of Kansas point guard Sherron Collins.  He has a great combination of speed and strength and is most adept at attacking the basket and being able to create for his teammates.  Although the one knock on Dority's game has been the consistency of his perimeter shooting, we thought that Dority showed vast improvement in this area when we watched him throughout this past summer both on his high school team and with the Full Package Chicago Elite traveling team that he played for.

Dority becomes the fourth member in the class of 2010 from Foreman to commit to a D1 school, joining 6'1 shooting guard Mike McCall (St. Louis), 6'3 guard Tommy Woolridge (Eastern Illinois) and 6'5 forward Eddie Denard (Illinois-Chicago).  As we have stated on numerous occasions, Dority is part of a back court at Foreman that we believe could very well be the best in the state of Illinois.

Continue to check in with Illinois Prep Bulls-eye for all of the latest as it pertains to recruiting and high school basketball in Illinois.

[Mama_Bull]

USF Recruiting

BIG EAST RECRUITING UPDATE: SOUTH FLORIDA

October 26, 2009 by NBE Blogger

Verbal Commitment Alert: Lavonte Dority, 6′2 point guard from Chicago (IL) – Foreman High School

With three scholarships to fill on the South Florida Bulls roster in their 2010 recruiting class, one spot has been accounted for as Lavonte Dority Chooses the Big East Program (Illinois Prep Bulls-eye).

The plan for USF has been to replace seniors Chris Howard (PG), Mike Mercer (big wing) and Alex Rivas (big man) this fall and with Chicago Point Guard Dority Choosing USF (St. Petersburg Times), they are on their way.

NBE got a chance to see Dority this summer with the Full Package Chicago Elite AAU squad and was always impressed with his toughness, leadership qualities and ability to make the tough plays when needed.

Dority visited USF for their recent Midnight Madness and had also visited New Mexico State previously. He canceled planned trips scheduled for Wisconsin and Baylor after making his decision yesterday.

“I think the program is on the rise,†Dority told Greg Auman of the St. Petersburg Times Sunday night. “I love the coaching staff, and I just liked the environment. And you can’t beat the Big East.â€

So, with Dority onboard, the next objective for South Florida looks to be big man Waverly Austin who recently told NBE he will be taking his official visit to check out the Bulls program this coming weekend.

Another big man USF is keeping a close eye in this fall is 6-foot-8 power forward Cleveland Melvin, currently attending Notre Dame Prep. Melvin is originally a Baltimore native and reportedly has an offer from the Bulls.

Over the summer, USF was seen following Orlando (FL) point guard Shane Larkin at several AAU events. Larkin was strong for the Showtime Ballers at the AAU National Showcase in his hometown in late July. He was the one who made everything go and he is a terrific ball-handler who can get past his defender at will, and he has a nice floater in the lane. Furthermore, he can pull up from three and knock down shots. It was not surprising to learn Stan Heath and company extended an offer to Larkin recently.

Patrick Lucas-Perry is the younger brother of Michigan’s Lavell and a 2011 point guard out of Flint, Michigan (Powers HS). Lucas-Perry has been offered by Stan Heath this fall as a potential point guard prospect.

Another 2011 target for South Florida is St. Frances Academy of Baltimore (MD) big man Greg Lewis. USF watched him work out this fall. The Bulls have also made the list of 2011 bull Grandy Glaze, a Toronto native currently prepping at Proctor Academy.

Stan Heath has extensive ties in the midwest, especially the Detroit (MI) area. The local scene also has some talented prospects and it looks like the USF staff is making a very concentrated effort to establish ties in the talent-rich Baltimore/Washington DC area. We will continue to monitor the USF efforts on the recruiting trail as we approach the early signing period next month.

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http://w3.nbebasketball.com/2009/10/26/big-east-recruiting-update-south-florida-14/