Faced with a major void in the backcourt, UCF found its answer within the Transfer Portal. Louisville grad-transfer Darius Perry picked the AAC program, giving Johnny Dawkins an immediate option at the lead guard spots that brings major experience and toughness to the floor.
“Johnny Dawkins. He is the right coach for him,” Darius Perry’s father, Eric Perry, said about his son’s decision to commit to UCF. “We went by relationships and not the name on the front of the jersey. They are going to put the ball into his hands and I like the pieces that are going to be around him. They will make Darius a better player.”
Perry selected UCF over Detroit, Georgia, North Carolina and San Diego, amongst many others. A 6-foot-2 guard that began his college career at Louisville and was one of Rick Pitino’s final recruits at the ACC program, Perry brings 100 games of high-major experience to Orlando.
A tough-nosed and aggressive guard that impacts both sides of the floor, the former four-star recruit has started 40 games throughout his college career. Immediately eligible in the fall thanks to graduating early this spring, Perry is not known for his scoring but he is a top-shelf perimeter defender that is a sound facilitator who has progressively improved in the shot making department during his college career.
Completing his junior season in which he made 39-percent of his perimeter attempts, Perry has never boasted a negative assist-to-turnover ratio in any one of his three years in college. It is because of his efficiency with the ball in his hands that he will be given it from day one next year. UCF will also enroll three-star prospects Jamille Reynolds and Isaiah Adams in the fall alongside Perry.
