Tyler Dorsey Review

On Friday night, Arizona received the commitment of junior guard Tyler Dorsey which marked Sean Miller’s first recruit in the class of 2015, but definitely not the last. Dorsey is currently rated the No. 7 prospect in the junior class by Scout.com and ESPN and the No. 5 prospect by Rivals.com. 

Tyler Dorsey – 6’4”, SG, 2015

High School: St John’s Bosco (CA)

AAU Team: Belmont Shores

College: Committed to Arizona (1/10/14)

Background:

A native of Southern California, Dorsey spent his freshman year at Ribet Academy in Los Angeles and then transferred to St. John Bosco in Bellflower in time for his sophomore year where he joined up with Isaac Hamilton (UCLA) and his brother Daniel (UConn). Now as a junior, Dorsey is in his second year at St. John Bosco and a main reason the Braves are one of the top teams in California.

Dorsey spent the previous spring and summer crisscrossing the country proving his worth as one of the top guards in the 2015 class. He played for the Belmont Shores AAU program in Southern California and also moonlighted for a session in the Nike EYBL. Dorsey also attended the NBPA Top 100 camp in Charlottesville, VA as well as the Adidas Nations in Garden Grove, CA. 

Strengths:

The 6’4” guard is an elite scorer and he can score in a variety of ways. In his four game Nike EYBL stint Dorsey averaged 19.5 points per game shooting 49%. A few weeks ago in the City of Palms tournament, he averaged 19 points and 5.5 assists per game. With a strong handle and an extremely quick first step Dorsey can find a shot almost any time he wants. He likes to push the ball on the break and his pull-up jump shot is a specialty. Dorsey’s elevation is second to none and he can get to the basket and finish at the rim with either hand and also avoids getting blocked with his superb body control. 

Weaknesses:

Outside shooting and playing the point are Dorsey’s biggest weaknesses as a junior. His range extends a few feet behind the arc and he is definitely capable of coming off the pick and roll for a three but right now he is not as consistent as he needs to be. In four games at the City of Palms tournament in Florida, Dorsey went 4-15 from behind the arc. As for playing the point, Dorsey expects to become a combo guard at Arizona. While he is already handling the ball a fair amount for his high school team, Dorsey will need to continue to work on his ball-handling abilities and decision making in order to give Sean Miller some quality minutes at the point. A natural scoring guard, Dorsey has already made strides in improving his decision making and had a 2.4:1 assist to turnover ratio while down in Florida as well. 

Overall:

Arizona landed the premier scorer on the West Coast in the class of 2015. This past July he scored 35 points against two of the top guards in the country in Emmanuel Mudiay and Malik Newman in one of the most talked about games on the AAU circuit. He consistently plays against some of the top competition and has always been one of the more athletic guards on the court. With Dorsey’s physical attributes and first step he is already one of the top players in his class, and with another year and a half to hone his craft he will be ready to impact the Arizona program from Day 1.