Five-star junior N'Faly Dante talks visits
RANKINGS: 2019 Rivals150 | 2020 Rivals150 | 2019 Team Rankings
One of 2020's most heavily recruited big men, five-star N'Faly Dante is currently the top-ranked center in his class.
A native of Mali who plays at Bel Aire (Kan.) Sunrise Christian, Dante has made a name for himself there and during the summers with MoKan Elite in Nike's EYBL. He's earned offers from Iowa State, Kansas, Kentucky, LSU, Oklahoma State, Oregon, St. John's and others.
During a Q&A, the imposing big man discussed his game, visits he's taken and plans for his recruiting.
Eric Bossi (EB): What have you improved upon the most since this time last year?
N'Faly Dante (ND): Last year when I was playing, I noticed that I had to work on a lot of stuff, especially on offense. This year I’ve been doing that. I’m not perfect. Like I can say I’m better but I’m not who I want to be yet.
EB: It does seem that you are more comfortable with the 15-foot jump shot, a jump hook and finding your offense rather than relying on dunks and rebounds. What’s the big difference for you?
ND: I’ve been working a lot with my coach (Luke Barnwell) and even after we are done I am going into the gym by myself and working hard on how he has shown me how to do things. They give me a ball and any time I go to bed, I have to lay there and do form shooting.
EB: You have taken some unofficial visits. You went out to Oregon how was that?
ND: It was cool. When I watched workouts and practice, everybody was going really hard. Their coaches think I could fit in with that.
EB: You went down to LSU, what stood out about that visit?
ND: It was good too. Like when I went there all of the players was going hard and they were cool with me and everything and made me feel good that I came down there.
EB: You have been up to Kansas a few times and were most recently up there for Late Night in the Phog. How was that?
ND: I think that was my third time up there. I didn’t get to watch their actual practice, so I don’t know about that. But the gym was packed and everybody was screaming. Their fans were going really hard and that was good stuff.
EB: Then you also went to Iowa State during the fall. How was that? Had you been up there before?
ND: Yeah, I was living up there in Iowa during the summer. So I know a lot about the school. It was a good unofficial visit.
EB: Have you thought a lot about your recruiting? If not when will you start to get serious about it?
ND: For me, I don’t really want to think about it right now. I want to worry about working to win a championship at Sunrise and to go hard during the season.
EB: What’s the next step for you to become a truly great player?
ND: I need to keep up with my work ethic. I need to keep listening to my coaches. I mean I’ve been listening but I can always listen more. That’s a good thing.
