Sunnyslope High School's very gifted and talented 6-foot, 185-pound senior point guard Oakland Fort has made his college decision, and it was a little bit of a surprise, as Fort, who was evaluated and recruited by numerous college programs, decided to stay close to home and give a big verbal commitment to Northern Arizona University Head Coach Shane Burcar and his men's basketball staff.
In the end, Northern Arizona won out - landing Burcar's biggest commitment from the state of Arizona, since taking over the Lumberjack's basketball program more than two years ago. Fort had recently narrowed down his list of college programs down to Radford, UC-Davis, Southern Utah and Portland State. He took his first official recruiting visit to Northern Arizona, which proved to be a smart move by the NAU coaching staff.
Like his terrific high school and club teammate Elijah Saunders, Fort was very well under recruited for some time, due to the COVID pandemic. He held an offer from NAU, his first offer, for some time, before receiving more offers for himself during the NCAA Evaluation Period. Like Saunders, Fort used the NCAA's summer evaluation period to attract much more recruiting attention for himself, after a strong junior season where he he helped lead Sunnyslope to a 6A State Championship.
Fort is as quick and explosive a guard prospect as there is in the West, regardless of class. He has significant bounce and lift off the floor, and plays at a high speed on both ends of the floor - glaring attributes for him as a college prospect. He is a pass-first point guard prospect, that enjoys getting his teammates the basketball and creating scoring opportunities for his teammates. He is also a proven scorer as well, as evidenced by his outburst against Mater Dei, but it is not his focus. He is a good shooter with excellent range on his shot, but he needs to continue to look for his shot much more to maximize his scoring ability. He is an ultra-quick ball handler and passer, that pushes the ball up the court as much as possible. He enjoys playing in an up-and-down, fast tempo-paced game, where he is very difficult to defend and slow down. Fort is also an excellent on-the-ball defender, capable of becoming a lock-down defender at the collegiate level. He also plays passing lanes effectively, and applies excellent pressure on opposing guards.
Fort is also an excellent student and is s a future leader on and off the basketball court and has a bright future ahead of himself in life. Congratulations to Fort and his family, as well as Sunnyslope High School on this accomplishment and decision by Fort.
