"I was about to give up last year": Syracuse commit Dominique Darius explains why she transferred from USC

Former USC hooper Dominique Darius transferred to Syracuse women’s basketball this offseason, leaving college hoops fans with conspiracy theories on why she left the Trojans. However, she has now revealed the real reason behind her departure in a video on Instagram.

The forward posted the video on Thursday with the caption:

“Always choose authenticity over everything!.

In the video, Darius explained the reasons she left USC and chose Syracuse. She explained:

“Alright first and foremost, as you guys know, I transferred from UCLA. This would be my third school, and a lot of people are like, ‘Oh my god, you transferred three times, huh?’ But to be honest, it really wasn't that bad.

“Number one reason why I transferred. I wanted to get a master's degree. I purposely registered this year so I could be in a situation to get my master's this upcoming year. I know a lot of people think it's just because maybe I didn't play or whatever, which was definitely partially like it. Obviously athletics plays a part in why you transfer, but to be honest, for me, I wanted to get my master's.

“Number two, I really want to be closer to home, to be honest. Being close to home was really important to me. I've been in LA for four years, and I'm from the East Coast. I lived in Florida. I lived in New York, in Jersey. I could count a lot of times my family came out to see me play. No shade to them. I love you all very much, but I mean, it's a cross-country flight, and it's expensive.

“Number three, obviously, playing opportunities. That is huge. I mean, that's really why most people transfer. If we're going to keep it a buck, we're going to be honest. You all know I redshirted the year prior, and you all probably see my stats. If you looked at my stats, they weren't great. But I didn't really play that much. I got hurt in the beginning of the season and then really couldn't find my time back on the court.

“Truthfully, y'all don't know this, but I was about to give up last year. This was going to be my last year. I was going to play in a few games, probably not that much."

Dominique Darius, the daughter of former Syracuse football defensive back Donovin Darius, has one more year of eligibility left. The forward already played two seasons at UCLA before transferring to USC in the middle of her junior season.

However, she did not feature much in her only season with the Trojans, averaging 8.7 minutes in 2023-24 before redshirting the 2024-25 season.

Dominique Darius on a redemption journey at Syracuse

The Orange’s roster lost a lot of players to eligibility last season, including top scorer Georgia Woolley, leading rebounder Kyra Wood and assist leader Dominique Camp.

Syracuse added Dominique Darius to the team alongside freshmen Camdyn Nelson and Jasmyn Cooper, with the former USC forward set to lead the charge next season.

The Orange finished with a 12-18 record last season and failed to make it past the first round of the ACC Tournament.