Overview
From Bel Aire, KS, Dante went to high school at Sunrise Christian Academy and led the basketball team to their first appearance in the GEICO Nationals as a senior. He participated in the Nike Hoop Summit in 2018 and 2019 and was a consensus five-star recruit before enrolling at Oregon. Dante played a limited role as a freshman and tore his ACL as a sophomore in 2020-21, but he responded with increased production in each of the next three seasons. As a fifth-year senior, he averaged 17.0 points, 9.2 rebounds, 1.9 blocks and 1.7 steals in 31.4 minutes across 22 appearances. Dante was named to the Pac-12 All-Defensive Team and the Pac-12 Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player in 2024. He was also a two-time First-Team All-Pac-12 member.
Analysis
At 6-foot-10, Dante has the size and athleticism to be an elite defender and rebounder but isn’t a polished offensive player, though he is adept at finishing plays off lobs and putbacks. His discipline defensively was key to staying out of foul trouble in college, but he wasn’t a conservative defender, finishing with at least 2.5 steals-plus-blocks in three of his final four seasons at Oregon. Dante’s jumper doesn’t look bad mechanically, but it’s a work in progress and takes a while to get off. He shot over 61% from the free-throw line in his last two collegiate campaigns and shows signs of being a capable mid-range shooter when left wide open.
Projection
Dante will turn 23 by the start of his rookie campaign, so he isn’t an ideal prospect. However, his elite defensive traits should intrigue enough teams to take a flier late in the draft. Dennis Rodman and Ben Wallace are two of the best undersized centers in NBA history, and while Dante shares similarities to those guys, his upside is probably more in line with Onyeka Okongwu and/or Daniel Gafford.
— Profile by RotoWire