LOS ANGELES — Oklahoma State transfer Eric Dailey Jr. announced his commitment to the UCLA men’s basketball team after a recent visit to Westwood, explaining he thought being a Bruin l would help realize his dream of playing in the NBA.
Dailey, a 6-foot-8, 230-pound forward, averaged 9.3 points and 4.8 rebounds while playing 22.3 minutes per game and starting 16 of 32 games as a freshman. He also shot 49.6% from the field, 33.3% from 3-point range and 60.2% from the free throw line.
He scored in double figures 15 times last season. His career-high was 20 points in an overtime loss to Oklahoma on February 24.
The versatile forward, who also played in spurts as an undersized center, was a four-star recruit in the class of 2023 and served as team captain while playing high school basketball at the famed IMG Academy in Florida.
“I want to thank Coach Mike (Boynton) and the rest of the staff for giving me the opportunity to play at a place as historic as Oklahoma State with a community as incredible as Stillwater,” Dailey said via Instagram Tuesday morning. “I am grateful to all Oklahoma State donors and fans for supporting me and my teammates this year, even though we did not produce the result we wanted. I will always be grateful for my time as a Cowboy.
“Due to recent changes to the program, I believe it would be best to explore other options to continue pursuing my dream of playing in the NBA. Thank you to everyone who has supported me thus far. I would like to announce my commitment to coach Cronin and UCLA. I can’t wait to see what’s to come and be a Bruin.
Dailey comes from a family of basketball players. Her mother, Shell, played college basketball at Texas and has coaching experience in college basketball and professionally with the WNBA’s San Antonio Silver Stars, now known as the Las Vegas Aces. His father, Eric Sr., played college basketball at TCU and professionally overseas for 10 years with stops in Europe, Asia and South America.
Dailey’s announcement comes four days after UCLA’s Adem Bona announced he had declared himself a candidate for the 2024 NBA draft.
Daily is the third transfer to announce plans to bring his talents to Westwood, following USC guard Kobe Johnson and Louisville guard Skyy Clark, who are looking to quickly turn around a UCLA program that finished 16- 17 overall and did not make the NCAA tournament. for the first time in Cronin’s five-year term.
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