High school senior Dominique Darius has enrolled early at UCLA and has joined the women's basketball team's active roster, The Michael Price UCLA Women's Head Basketball Coach Cori Close announced Monday. Darius originally signed her national letter of intent to play for the Bruins on Nov. 13.
"Dominique is the total package – athletic, versatile, great leader, competitive, driven, high character, and has a high basketball IQ," said Close. "We are so fortunate to have her. She fills a huge need for our backcourt depth. Athletically, she is ready right now. It will just be a matter of how much she can take in with the crash course we are giving her from the mental side. She will do whatever it takes to adjust as quickly as possible. It is just a lot to ask of someone this time of year."
The Jacksonville, Fla., native is ranked 26th on ESPN's 2021 HoopGurlz Recruiting Rankings. She arrives in Westwood by way of Blair Academy (NJ), where she helped lead the Buccaneers to a pair of NJISAA State titles (2017, 2020). As a senior, Darius put up 15.8 points per game in Blair's 26-5 campaign. She notched double-digit scoring performances in 26 games, including a season-high 30 points in the team's win over Lincoln Prep (Canada) on Dec. 21.
Close made clear her excitement for Darius' decision to enroll early and immediately join UCLA's roster, but also acknowledged Bruin freshmen Izzy Anstey and Gemma Potter, who have both been unable to enter the United States from their native Australia due to current travel restrictions.
"I am thrilled to have Dominique joining our team," said Close. "It will be so great for her development and it will be great to add another player to our short-handed team. Dominique will have a GREAT career as a Bruin and this gives her such a head start. I am sad for Gemma and Izzy that Dominique is beating them here. We recruited them for two-plus years, they were two of the most heavily recruiting international student athletes in the world, and they chose UCLA. We were thrilled and they were projected to be major impact players for us this year. You can imagine how hard this is for them to have a 2021 recruit come to UCLA before them."
Darius will travel with the team to Oregon for UCLA's upcoming matchup with the Ducks. UCLA and Oregon are set to tip off on Sunday, Jan. 3 at 1:00 p.m. PT at Matthew Knight Arena.
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