Meet LaVonte Dority
Height: 6’1”
Weight: 200
Year: Senior
Hometown: Chicago, Ill.
High School: Foreman
Prior: South Florida
Position: Guard
2012-13 season (Junior)
- Transferred from South Florida. Became eligible to play on Dec. 15 at Missouri State.
-Appeared in each of the final 25 games of the season, making four starts.
-Named Horizon League Sixth Man of the Year and also earned team's Homer W. Drew Sr. Memorial Award, awarded to the team's most improved player.
-Averaged 8.6 points per game, third-best on the squad.
-Scored 19 points, including a 10-of-12 mark from the free throw line, in victory over Purdue Calumet Dec. 22.
-On Jan. 9 at UIC, scored 18 points on 6-of-11 shooting, including three triples in a win in his return to his hometown.
2011-12 season (Sophomore)
-Played in nine games at South Florida, starting in seven of those games, before transferring to Valparaiso.
-Averaged 3.0 points per game while shooting 45.5 percent from three-point range.
2010-11 season (Freshman)
-Played in 26 games at South Florida, averaging 0.7 points per game in 5.7 minutes per game.
Talk about last season and the success you found in your first season at Valparaiso.
Last year was one of the best years of my life. We were able to win a Regular Season and a Tournament title. We had great leadership from the six seniors that we had. Some of the accolades I had was a great accomplishment for me.
During the 2012-13 season, you were named the Horizon League Sixth Man of the Year and the Homer W. Drew Sr. Memorial Award given to the most improved Valparaiso player. Were you expecting to make your mark on the program so quickly?
I’m not going to say I expected it, but I just wanted to continue to play at a high level and really concentrate on winning. Those things just happened to come up and I was very blessed to get the awards.
Growing about in Chicago, Ill., talk about the transition from South Florida to Valparaiso.
When I was looking to transfer and figure out what schools were best for me, Valpo was a great situation with coaches, players and also with the school. I choose to go there and it all worked out for me. It’s also close to home, I’m from Chicago so it’s an hour away, my family can come to my games. When I was going to school in Florida I was seeing my family maybe once per year.
Valparaiso travels to Illinois on Nov. 13. Growing up in Illinois, how excited are you to play the Illini?
Oh yeah. My parents and family are excited to come up there. That’s definitely going to be fun.
Gone from last year's team are six seniors which includes All-League performers Ryan Broekhoff and Kevin Van Wijk. What are goals for the upcoming season?
Basically we want to repeat. We have higher expectations. We want to come in and compete and win games and get back to the NCAA Tournament.
If someone had never met Coach Drew, how would you describe him?
I would say that he’s a person that has a lot of knowledge of the game and is willing to help anyone.
Who is the biggest jokester on the team?
I would say Keith Carter. His reactions to everything and his jokes are funny, he’s just a silly guy with all his different voices when he talks.
Outside of basketball, what are some hobbies you have?
Just hanging out with friends, going out to the movies, going to Six Flags, and chillin' with my teammates. We play a lot of pool and video games. The best pool players are close, it’s probably Clay [Yeo] and Alec Peters, those two are hand-in-hand.
If you could play any other sports collegiately, what would it be?
I played a little bit of football, pee wee league and in high school. My father and grandfather played football so that’s probably what I would’ve played.
You’re majoring in communications, what would your dream job be?
I like the digital media thing. I had an editing class that showed me how to cut and edit videos so I would be able to watch practice film and watch certain clips, but I just want to be a coach.
