Oregon made arguably the greatest commotion of the summer leading up to the school year in completing one’s roster on Tuesday. N’Faly Dante, the best shot blocker in America, committed to the Ducks and will enroll at the Eugene campus immediately, thus filling their void at the center position.
Dante took an official visit to Oregon this winter and had also visited LSU and Kentucky. Michigan State and Tennessee were two others that had expressed varying degrees of interest in him in recent months before his commitment on Saturday.
Much of the talk surrounding Dante was not whether he wanted to reclassify but if he could. Receiving the proper test scores was the primary hold-up but with Dante now qualified for college, he is the game-changing sort of talent that programs tend to rely on with a national championship in mind.
A five-star prospect that stands close to 7-feet tall, is blessed with elite length thanks in part to his 7-foot-6 wingspan, and a frame that has filled out well in recent years, Dante will be first relied upon for his defensive prowess. He is a playmaking defender that changes practically every shot within his vicinity and has strong hands in rebounding his area on the glass.
The native of Mali has progressively taken the proper steps with his offensive game since stepping foot onto American soil three years ago. He now can make shots to 17-feet, score in the low post and causes a major impact on the weakside glass. All of which was on display this summer with the MoKan Elite bunch where he posted per-game averages of 15.8 points (72 FG percent), 10.5 rebounds, and 2.1 blocks.
Dante now cements Oregon’s frontcourt and gives the Ducks the type of rim protector that not many within the college game can sport. Alongside Francis Okoro, CJ Walker and Lok Wur, Oregon has a formidable frontline with enough versatility and depth to compete for a Pac 12 title and possible much more.
