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Vanderbilt Transfer Center Lee Dort Commits to Cal
Lee Dort played just one game for Vanderbilt this past season before being suspended
Cal coach Mark Madsen began restocking the Cal men's basketball roster by getting a commitment from Vanderbilt transfer center Lee Dort on Monday.
The 6-foot-10 Dort played only one game this past season, reportedly because of a suspension following an arrest for a felony aggravated assault charge.
He reportedly had reached an agreement to have his criminal case dropped, according to a report in the Tennessean in January.
Here is an excerpt from the Tennessean story:
"Dort's charges for aggravated assault by strangulation will be dropped if he complies with a pre-trial diversion agreement made with the prosecutor's office, as outlined in Davidson County Criminal Court on Thursday. The court will review his case again on March 28. This agreement did not constitute a plea."
And another two-paragraph excerpt from that report:
"Dort was arrested Nov. 26 after being accused of shoving his ex-girlfriend against a wall and bedpost and gripping her neck in her Vanderbilt dorm room. When police arrived, they observed a scratch on her shoulder and a red mark on her upper arm.
"The ex-girlfriend originally had a protective order against Dort, but that order was dismissed Thursday in court."
He came off the bench in that one game and played seven minutes without scoring any points or recording any rebounds or blocks.
As a freshman, he played in 17 games in 2022-23, all off the bench, and averaged 6.5 minutes, 1.7 points, 2.1 rebounds and 0.7 blocks.
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Dort was a four-star recruit from out of Greenhill School in Addison, Texas, and Arizona, Auburn, Memphis and Arkansas were among the schools that offered Dort a scholarship as a high school recruit.
He missed a lot of playing time at Vanderbilt because of injuries. He missed considerable playing time as a freshman because of injuries, and he missed the first two weeks of his sophomore season with an injury. He then played one game before being suspended for the rest of the season because of his arrest in November.
Vanderbilt head coach Jerry Stackhouse was dismissed after this past season, and Dort entered the transfer portal.
Madsen must replace all five starters from this past season's Golden Bears squad, and he is expected to do that through the transfer portal, as he did a year ago. Four of his five starters this past season came from other schools as transfer prior to the 2023-24 season. But all four of those players will not be returning, as Keonte Kennedy, Fardaws Aimaq and Jalen Cone are out of college eligibility, and Jaylon Tyson has opted to enter the 2024 NBA draft and give up his final season of college eligibility. Jalen Celestine, the the fifth starter on this past season's squad, has entered the transfer portal.
