This is the third part of an ongoing summer basketball series, with a spotlight on the UCLA men’s basketball program. The first two portions of the summer series (Part 1 and Part 2) highlighted UCLA’s roster construction this spring, and recent senior Tyler Bilodeau being drafted by the Brooklyn Nets. Stay tuned to uclabruins.com this summer for additional chapters about the Bruins.
Veteran Voice
Few Bruins can match Dailey Jr.'s experience. The 6-foot-8 forward from Palmetto, Fla., has played in 100 college games across three seasons, including 68 at UCLA. He averaged 11.6 points and a team-high 5.8 rebounds last season but wants to take on more of a leadership role.
Dailey Jr. acknowledges with a grin that his two years in Westwood have made him a familiar face with Bruin fans. He relishes that. He’s grateful for the synergy with fans in Pauley Pavilion.
“I feel like the fans have an idea of who I am, that they’re familiar with my name, my face,” Dailey Jr. said. “And I hope that this year they will get to know who I am, really from a leadership standpoint. I want to be a good example for people. Yeah, I’m really excited to be back for my senior year and hopefully to put that 12th banner up. That has always been my goal since I’ve been here.”
Earlier this summer, the well-traveled Dailey Jr. had the opportunity to add another continent to his passport. His youth basketball travels have already taken him to Europe and Asia, but playing for USA Basketball’s 3x3 team in Santiago, Chile, provided him a trip to South America. The 3x3 tournament ran from June 27 until July 3, hosted in the capital city of Chile, home to more than six million people.
Dailey Jr. and five other collegiate players on the men’s side competed for Team USA’s 3x3 Nations League squad. The tournament format included six “stops” with each one featuring three consecutive matches. The U.S. team participated in the Americas tournament, alongside Canada, Puerto Rico, Chile, Argentina and the Cayman Islands. Dailey competed in 12 of his team’s 18 matches, averaging 6.8 points per contest in a scoring format that includes one-point and two-point field goals.
The scoring and the half court aren’t the only variations from traditional five-on-five hoops.
The shot clock runs for just 12 seconds. Games last for 10 minutes, or the first team to score 21 points, and personal fouls simply get logged as team fouls.
“With the three-on-three game, you’re seeing more actions and off-ball actions,” Dailey Jr. said. “Obviously, you have two fewer defenders out there. On defense, it’s more one-on-one with talking and switching. The reads are quicker because you only have three people on a team. So in pick-and-roll, the reads might be a bit easier in a way, because you do not have that second and third line of defense back there. With two fewer people out there, it’s a lot of actions that you are running – curls, fade screens, slips, so if you know those things, it’s going to help you a lot.”
The USA men’s 3x3 team registered an undefeated record and qualified for the FIBA 3x3 U23 World Cup, scheduled for mid-September in Wuhan, China. In the final “stop” for the USA men, Dailey Jr. scored 10 points to lead his team past the Cayman Islands, 21-9. Later that day, Dailey Jr. and teammate Pace Prosser (Gannon University, in Pennsylvania) combined for 14 points to help Team USA overpower Canada, 21-16.
For Dailey Jr., continuing his relationship with USA Basketball is important. He has cultivated that connection since he was 15. Among his previous endeavors with USA Basketball have included Team USA’s U19 Men’s World Cup team in Hungary (summer of 2023), playing for the 2023 USA Men’s Nike Hoop Summit Team and winning a gold medal at the 2022 FIBA U18 Americas in Mexico and the 2021 3x3 U18 World Cup in Hungary.
“I feel like that’s just the pinnacle of basketball, when it comes to 5-on-5 or 3-on-3,” Dailey Jr. said. “I mean, you are playing for your country. Having that reputation behind you, that will help you and be with you throughout your life. They’ve helped me so much in my basketball career, and I just want to give it back by playing well for my country.”
Dailey Jr. could continue his summer tour with USA Basketball in mid-September, should he play for the USA 3x3 men’s team at the U23 World Cup in China.
But back in the gym at the Bruins’ Mo Ostin Basketball Center, Dailey Jr. acknowledges that his upcoming college season is stocked with potential. Dailey Jr. and his coaches view him as a go-to leader on next season’s team, and he is eager for the challenge and the fast-approaching opportunity.
“I’ve learned from a lot of the guys who have come before me,” Dailey Jr. said. “What to do and how to represent yourself, even the alumni and talking to guys like Russell Westbrook and Baron Davis – they have helped me understand what the expectations are here.”
Bruins’ associate head coach Darren Savino, who joined UCLA’s program in the spring of 2019 when Mick Cronin became the head coach, appreciates many of Dailey Jr.’s attributes. From his work ethic to his familiarity with UCLA to his disarming smile, Savino recognizes the importance of retaining Dailey Jr.
“Eric just knows the ins and outs of how to practice, how to act every day,” Savino said. “How do you carry yourself? He has developed a great work ethic. All of that can rub off on every else. If you’re a younger player and you see him in the gym constantly, the new guys are thinking, ‘Well I need to be in the gym since I’m new and this vet is around our gym all the time.’ He really helps to set the tone, as far as the DNA in our program.”
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Stay tuned for upcoming chapters of the Bruins’ summer series, including thoughts from junior guard Trent Perry and a quick introduction of UCLA’s incoming basketball players (both freshmen and transfer students).