In practices, Arizona State freshman Luguentz Dort learns by example. Call it baptism by fire.

He consistently lines up against the Sun Devils’ likely starting point guard and one of the most difficult players to guard on the roster, sophomore Remy Martin, whose style is far different from that of the newcomer from Montréal.

Dort’s strong, athletic and explosive. Martin — who averaged 9.6 points and 2.9 assists while shooting 45 percent from the field last season — is quick and shifty. He’s got plenty of skills that Dort hopes will continue to rub off on him, as he learns the point guard position, having spent most of his career to date playing the shooting guard position.

“It’s been great because I really like learning how to play like a crafty point guard, it’s really been great,” Dort said. “I’m learning a lot from him, he’s actually a great leader, from last year, he had Shannon and Kodi I know from last year, and now that he had them, so he can actually teach me how everything is here.”

By way of their one-on-one battles in practice, Dort is quickly learning what made Martin so difficult to stop in his first season at ASU. First and foremost, the freshman praised Martin’s vision.

“He’s really fast, so he actually sees, basically, everything, so he’s always going to find the man open,” Dort said. “So, like, when I guard him, I’ve got to make sure he’s not going to get past me or try to get a shot off. It’s not easy, I’m going to tell you that, it’s not easy.”

“That’s why people are saying that I’ve been playing really good on defense because I’m really trying to follow him and trying to stop him,” he added.

Off the court, though, he learns from one of the college game’s great guards — his head coach, noted Duke alum and five-year NBA point guard Bobby Hurley, whose mentorship was one of the notable factors in Dort’s decision to attend ASU.

“We’ve been doing a lot of stuff, putting on a lot of film of me playing the point guard,” Dort said. “He’s really teaching me how to find the man open or take a good shot and all that.”

For Dort, with his skill set, he definitely seems to have bought into the idea of “positionless basketball,” at least when it comes to how he can be utilized. He’s versatile and athletic and has been described by Hurley as potentially the best defensive guard he’s ever coached.

Dort’s also significantly taller than some of the guard ASU fans might be used to; while the Sun Devils’ Tra Holder-Shannon Evans backcourt of a year ago maxed out at 6-foot-1, Dort’s 6-foot-4 frame allows him to hang with a wider range of players on the defensive end.

“As a guard, you’ve got to be able to guard all positions,” he said. “And then with my size and all that, I think I’ll be able to guard from the one, and the four.”

Of the three true scholarship guards on ASU’s roster, Dort sees redshirt junior and Cleveland State transfer Rob Edwards as the one to which he’s most similar. Edwards is also 6-foot-4 and is also most familiar with the shooting guard position.

As a whole, though, Dort thinks his skills have fit in well with the Sun Devils’ newly-developing backcourt, which will likely see Martin, Edwards, and Dort handle the majority of the minutes.

“We mesh really good,” Dort said. “Of all the guards, me and Rob are really athletic guards, and Remy’s really crafty, but it’s been really good. I’m trying to be a little more crafty, too, so I’m really learning from Remy.”

Off the court, Dort is starting to get used to the time management challenge posed by the start of a career in college athletics. Now that full practices are underway for 2018-19, he’s been tasked with finding the balance between workouts, study halls and a full slate of courses.

“This is the toughest part because as a freshman I’ve got to take a lot of classes, so I have classes in the morning, and then practices and then class at night, then I have study hall,” he said. “But it’s been really great, I’m enjoying everything.”

“It was kind of hard when I started, but now I’m getting used to it,” he added. “It’s a grind.”

Dort is one of five ASU freshmen all going through a similar experience, and he’s joined by two fellow international prospects, 6-foot-7 wing Elias Valtonen, and 7-foot center Uroš Plavšić.

Granted, the difference between the United States and their respective home countries of Finland and Serbia is far more noticeable than that of Dort’s native Canada. In Dort’s eyes, the U.S. isn’t particularly foreign. He spent his junior year of high school playing in Orlando before returning to Ontario to attend Athlete Institute Prep as a senior.

“I would say that Canada and U.S. are really like, Canada’s similar and I played tours in Florida, so I wasn’t really like, used to it, but it’s been really great,” he said. “Right now, I’m playing with older people now, so I’m adjusting really good right now.”

According to Dort, the three international freshmen, as well as former Top-100 forward Taeshon Cherry and walk-on guard Kyle Feit — who, as a whole, comprise a five-man freshman class — have meshed well and learned plenty from their elders in their time in Tempe.

“We have, what, five freshmen right now, and we’re just trying to adjust with the other guys, and it’s been really good,” Dort said. “They’re really teaching us how everything is here on and off the court.”

In terms of those upperclassmen, Dort tabbed Cheatham as one of the more outspoken, effective leaders on ASU’s roster. That’s been a common assertion; according to Dort, Cheatham’s four years’ experience at the college level make a major difference.

“He’s been in college for a lot of years so he really knows how to get everybody involved and get everybody together,” he said. “Sometimes we’ll be sloppy and he’ll try to bring everybody together and then make the practice more intense.”

Dort, obviously, is one of many pieces who — like Cheatham — are brand-new to the ASU program. The way they’ve begun to fit together in preseason practices, though, from Dort’s perspective, is a sign of great things to come in Tempe.

“I think we’re going to be really good this year,” he said. “The way we’ve been practicing, the way we’ve been going at each other, on the court and off the court, we have really good chemistry right now, so I really think we’re going to be great this year.”