Update: Two hours after our publication of this article, the University of Washington confirmed the transfer commitment of Dalayah Daniels.
On Monday, May 2nd, former Cal basketball star, Dalayah Daniels, announced her commitment to the University of Washington Women’s Basketball program with an Instagram post containing 5 pictures.
Her announcement certainly sent shockwaves through the PAC-12, as the recently last-place Huskies catapulted themselves back into conference relevance (on paper, at least).
Dalayah Daniels was a McDonald’s All-American and five-star high school recruit out of Seattle, WA (Garfield High School) for the Class of 2020.
Still one of the nation’s most talented bigs (think, South Carolina’s Aliyah Boston-level talented), Dalayah has played under the radar and with little fanfare her entire college career — most likely due to a Cal scheme which did not feature Daniels properly.
Daniels is an ultra-athletic 6’4″ big that can post-up deep and finish, rebound and block shots like a traditional center; as well as, run the floor with guards, dribble-drive, and hit mid-range jumpers.
Now the Huskies finally have a centerpiece to build a program around — Dalayah Daniels.
Washington Head Coach Tina Langley must now do what Cal failed to do.
Langley must build an offensive scheme around Dalayah Daniels that frees her to be great and dominant — instead of rooted in the low post or high post.
Letting Daniels move around the floor to take advantage of her inside-outside versatility will be key to putting the most pressure on PAC-12 defenses.
At the same time, a dominant Daniels can facilitate other talented Huskies (e.g., Haley Van Dyke, Darcy Rees and a multitude of versatile wings) elevating their games so that Daniels is not the sole target of opposing defenses.
The Dawgs should elevate and improve defensively, as well.
Although Dalayah Daniels is not as tall as 6’9″ Nancy Mulkey, her defensive quickness and versatility should result in a more dynamic and aggressive defense overall.
These are exciting times, now the Huskies must take advantage of the momentum the program gains from such a huge centerpiece.
