Syracuse, N.Y. — Dominique Darius needed advice. So, she turned to Dyaisha Fair.
Darius had just entered the transfer portal, and she was considering transferring to Felisha Legette-Jack’s Syracuse program.
She asked Fair, who was a third-team All-American in 2024 and played for Legette-Jack for five seasons between Buffalo and SU, what the head coach was like.
Fair told Darius that Legette-Jack would run through a wall for her, adding that Darius would want to do the same thing for her potential new head coach.
On April 15, Darius committed to the Orange.
Nearly seven months later, she scored her most points in a single game since scoring 16 points for UCLA on Feb. 16, 2022, as Syracuse defeated Albany 64-45.
It came just three days after the Orange easily won its season opener, when Darius referenced that conversation with Fair after Legette-Jack secured her 400th career win.
“I just go out there every day trying to prove her right, and prove myself right on why she took a chance on me,” said Darius, the daughter of former Syracuse football and NFL safety Donovin Darius.
A former top high school prospect, Darius, a 5-foot-10 guard, spent her first three collegiate seasons at UCLA before transferring to USC. She played just 19 games with the Trojans in 2023-24 before not playing college basketball last season.
Across her first two collegiate stops, Darius averaged 3.6 points. Yet, during SU’s media day, Legette-Jack said Darius has “the keys to the Mercedes.”
During media day, Legette-Jack said she was in a “laughable situation” at Buffalo when initially trying to recruit Darius in 2017. Darius was rated the No. 26 player in her class, per ESPN.
Darius said postgame that Legette-Jack has known her father for decades.
Donovin told Legette-Jack that his daughter wanted to play out west, which led her to UCLA. When she entered the portal midway through her junior year, Legette-Jack said she reached out again to no avail. She transferred to USC.
This time around, Legette-Jack said, Darius called her.
“She made the phone call, and she asked if she can come back home,” Legette-Jack said last month.
Before speaking with Legette-Jack, Darius said she saw clips on social media where the head coach was “fired up” and “passionate.” Darius added that she watched Syracuse games before speaking with her future head coach.
From their first phone call, Darius felt Legette-Jack’s enthusiasm.
“I just knew that she believed in me, and I just needed another chance to really show what I could do and really help lead a team to where we need to go,” Darius said.
Meanwhile, Syracuse needed a guard who could help deliver the championship expectation Legette-Jack said the program always has.
After Fair led the Orange to the NCAA Tournament’s Round of 32 before moving to the WNBA in 2024 (she now plays overseas), Syracuse failed to replicate her production. Last season, SU faltered to the program’s worst season (12-18) since Legette-Jack took over in 2022.
In Legette-Jack’s mind, Darius has been denied for four years, and she’s been talked over. Through it all, the head coach saw that Darius was “tough” and “ready.”
“I know what this kid’s capable of doing,” Legette-Jack said postgame. “I’ve watched her ever since she was at Blair (Academy), and she’s earned the right to have the key to the Mercedes.”
Through her first two games playing for Syracuse, Darius has scored 25 points in just 41 minutes.
Darius described her style as playing with aggression. In the opening minutes against Albany, she scored a quick six points, all after driving to the rim.
The guard finished the game a perfect 4-of-4 from the field while draining 4-of-5 free throws.
Darius’ early offense gave the Orange an instant boost, never relinquishing its lead after she scored its first four points.
Though SU commanded a double-digit lead in the second quarter, its offense struggled until Darius drilled a 3-pointer midway through to get it back on track. The triple extended Syracuse’s lead to 20-7 with just over five minutes until halftime.
Over the ensuing minutes, she tacked on four more points, two from the charity stripe and two off a layup, after attacking the paint.
With 13 points and a controlling a 27-10 halftime lead, Darius played only a handful of minutes as her teammates closed out the blowout win in the second half.
“She’s earned the right to try and have an opportunity,” Legette-Jack said. “And I’m grateful that she chose me, because I’m the coach of second chances, if you will.”
Postgame, Darius sat alongside her head coach, fielding questions from the media. Throughout Darius’ previous college stops, it’s not a spotlight that she’s often had to deal with.
Deep down, Legette-Jack knew this was the kind of player Darius is. She just needed someone to believe in her.