SEC interest in Dortch

The No. 131 ranked player in the class of 2006 Taurus Dortch has lead his 22-8 Ramsey High School team from Birmingham, Ala., into the Sweet 16 of the State Tournament. Dortch, a 6-foot, 180-pound point guard, is being recruited by a host of SEC schools and his hometown university.

"I'm interested in Tennessee, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, AUB, Auburn and Alabama," said Dortch about his recruitment. "Except for Tennessee, all of them have been by my school or at one of my games."

Dortch, who is averaging 16 points and 5 rebounds per game on the season, will not narrow his list until after his spring visits.

"I'm still open and will know more after I take my visits, which I plan to do after the season," he said. "I'll be looking for a place where I can play early and a team that gets up and down the court."

A well built, physical point guard, Dortch can hound the ball and be a disruptive presence defensively. Offensively, he is very good with his left hand and shoots the ball well enough to keep the defense honest. In order to run a team at the high-major level, his overall ball handling skills do need to improve.

"I want to get quicker and continue to work on my shooting although I've been shooting the ball pretty well this season," he said.

Dortch, who attended the Nike Hoop Jamboree this past summer, will once again play AAU ball for the Birmingham Raptors.