Derrick Daniels enters his first season as an assistant coach on Donna Capps[apos] staff at UTA. He is responsible for recruiting and film exchange, along with his on-court duties of working with the team[apos]s guards.
Daniels comes to UTA after serving as an athletic director foro the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Fort Worth and the coach of the Fort Worth M.A.S.H. AAU boy[apos]s basketball team.
One of the most heralded high school players in the country, Daniels was rated the No. 2 point guard in 1988 behind only NBA All-Star Kenny Anderson. He still holds the national high school record by handing out 1,379 assists.
He was named the 1988 Gatorade Circle of Champions Texas basketball Player of the Year and a third team All-American by Street and Smith in leading Dunbar High School to a 34-2 record and the Class 5A State Final. DHS advanced past the semis as Daniels hit the game-winning three-pointer to defeat associate head coach Ron Powell[apos]s South Oak Cliff team. He averaged 18 points and 11 assists as a senior after averaging 12 points and 13 assists as a junior.
Daniels signed with the University of Houston andstarted all 124 games, and at the time, he joined Clyde Drexler and Craig Upchurch as the only players to start every game as a freshman.
Daniels set a UH freshman assist record in earning honorable mention All-America honors from the Bastketball Times and was named to the Associated Press SWC all-newcomer team.
As a junior, Daniels poured in a career-high 33 points and dished out a season-best 10 assists in an 80-73 victory over Rice. He dished out a career-best 16 assists against the Owls, which ranks second on the single-game assist list at UH. He also returned to his last second heroics that season as he nailed a three-pointer from the top of they key to defeat St. Louis, 85-84, and hit another three-pointer from just left of the key to defeat Texas A&M, 71-68.
Daniels finished his career with 1,087 points and 711 assists in leading the team to two NCAA tournament and one NIT appearances. He led the Southwest Conference in assists as a junior after ranking in the top three in each of his first two seasons. His 711 career assists rank him fourth on the SWC all-time playmakers list.
Daniels legacy is still alive at UH as he ranks third on the all-time list in assists, third in three-pointers made (168), third in minutes played (4,065) and tied for seventh with 124 games played.
Daniels played for the Milwaukee Bucks rookie free agent summer league team before signing on with the Rockchester Renegades of the CBA in 1993.
A native of Fort Worth, Daniels graduated from Texas Wesleyan in 2004 with a bachelors degree in exercise and sports studies.
Daniels has two sons, Princeton, 17, and Darrius, 7. He is engaged to Michelle Hogan.
