Men's Basketball Signs Trio of Incoming Players
April 16, 2024 | Men's Basketball
LOS ANGELES – The UCLA men's basketball program has received signed grant-in-aid agreements from transfer students Skyy Clark, Eric Dailey Jr. and Kobe Johnson, as announced on Tuesday by Mick Cronin, The Michael Price Family UCLA Men's Head Basketball Coach.
All three student-athletes will enter UCLA's program next season as transfers. Clark, a 6-foot-3 guard from the Los Angeles area, spent the 2023-24 campaign as a sophomore at the University of Louisville. Dailey Jr., a 6-foot-8 forward from Palmetto, Fla., played as a freshman last season at Oklahoma State University. Johnson, a 6-foot-6 guard from Milwaukee, Wisc., competed for the past three seasons at the University of Southern California (USC). Clark has two years of remaining eligibility, while Dailey Jr. has three seasons and Johnson has one year.
"We are excited to be adding Skyy, Eric and Kobe to our program," Cronin said. "We are familiar with all three of these young men, and they are going to be important players for our team. Our staff had recruited Skyy when he was in high school, and we know he's a dynamic guard who can score and distribute the ball. Eric is a big guard, built in the Jaime Jaquez Jr. mold. He can rebound like a big, but he is a young man with guard skills in a big, strong body. Kobe has made really strong strides in each of his three years in college, showing that he can be an impact player. He is a smart and tenacious athlete, especially on the defensive end, but he also provides versatility as a scorer and distributor. We will lean on the experience of all three players, and we are looking forward to getting them on campus."
Clark will begin his junior season with the Bruins in 2024-25, having spent last season at Louisville and the 2022-23 campaign as a freshman at Illinois. Through two college seasons, he has averaged 11.3 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.7 assists in 42 games. As a sophomore at Louisville, Clark registered 13.2 points, 3.1 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game, competing in 29 games (28 starts). He shot 41.2 percent from the field and 35.3 percent from 3-point distance last year at Louisville.
Clark spent his first two years of high school at Heritage Christian in Northridge, Calif., before moving to Tennessee.
Dailey Jr. enrolled at Oklahoma State as a freshman last season after having played his high school basketball at IMG Academy in Florida. As a freshman at Oklahoma State, he averaged 9.3 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.5 assists in all 32 games. He ranked third on Oklahoma State's team in scoring and finished fourth in rebounding. He scored in double figures in 15 games and tallied a pair of double-doubles during his freshman campaign. Dailey Jr. will be a sophomore with UCLA in 2024-25.
Johnson will enter his senior year with UCLA in 2024-25 after having played in 91 games for USC the past three years. Johnson averaged 7.4 points, 3.7 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.7 steals in three seasons. He has secured Pac-12 All-Defensive Team honors the past two years (2023, 2024), ranking second in the Pac-12 each season in total steals.
Last year, Johnson averaged 10.9 points, 4.6 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 2.2 steals in 31 games. He has shot 42.3 percent in his career, including a 32.9 percent clip from 3-point distance. Johnson has also totaled 156 steals and 44 blocks in 91 games.
Over the past two seasons, Johnson has scored in double figures in 32 games, netting at least 20 points in two contests. Last year, Johnson led USC in steals (68) and ranked second on his team in rebounding (4.6 rpg) and assists (101 assists, 3.3 apg).
