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 that he believes being a Bruin will help him reach 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 is 20 points in an overtime loss against Oklahoma on Feb. 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 the 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 such a historic place like Oklahoma State with such an amazing community like Stillwater,” Dailey said via Instagram Tuesday morning. “I’m thankful to all the Oklahoma State donors and fans for supporting me and my teammates this year, even though we did not produce the outcome we wanted. I will forever be thankful 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 this far. I would like to announce my commitment to Coach Cronin and UCLA. I’m excited to see what is to come and to be Bruin.”
Dailey comes from a basketball family. His 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 declared for the 2024 NBA Draft.
Daily is the third transfer to announce his intentions 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 tenure.