IRVINE, Calif. - The 2017-18 UC Irvine women's basketball team will feature 10 newcomers with five true freshmen and five returning redshirts suiting up in an Anteater uniform for the first time. Fans can get to know each of these student-athletes through our Meet the Newcomers series, and up next is junior guard Deijah Blanks.
 

#35 DEIJAH BLANKS
Year: Junior
Position: Guard
Height: 5-9
Hometown: San Diego, Calif. (Utah Valley/Mount Miguel HS)
Major: Public Health


1. Mom's Little Dancer
When Deijah was growing up, her mom put her in dance, soccer and taekwondo, but everything took a back seat to basketball at a very young age.

Deijah was about seven years old when she joined a boys' team coached by her cousin. From there, basketball became her favorite sport and the only thing she wanted to do, even though her mom still wanted her to be a dancer.

"I have no idea why she wanted me to be a dancer," Blanks said while laughing. "She was a track athlete and was really good, so I'm not sure where dancing came from. When my dad was there, he wanted a little boy and would dress me in baseball jerseys and baggy pants. My mom would then go get a tutu and tights, so I don't know, maybe it's just a mom thing."
 

2. Getting to the Next Level
Deijah loved to play basketball ever since she joined her first team. Although her mom's persistence eventually paid off as Deijah and her friends started to take dancing more seriously in middle school, basketball was still at the top of her list. It became even more of a priority when she learned she could play at the collegiate level.

"When you're little, you don't really take anything too seriously; you're just playing basketball," Blanks said. "Then, a couple high school coaches in San Diego wanted me to come play for them. I didn't think it mattered because basketball was just basketball to me. That's when they started telling me about scholarships and playing in college."

When Blanks found out where basketball could take her, she started searching online for more information. One of her searches was on the Ogwumike sisters (Nneka and Chiney), who she had always admired and modeled her game after.

"I looked up to the Ogwumike sisters," Blanks said. "They were my favorite players in the world; I wanted to be like them. I saw what they did so I decided that's what I needed to do."

All her hard work and research ended up paying off as Deijah was a two-time Grossmont Valley League Player of the Year at Mount Miguel High School, before earning a scholarship to continue her career and education at Utah Valley.


3. Time for a Change
Deijah made an immediate impact in her time at Utah Valley. She started as a freshman and became one of the Wolverines' main scorers as a sophomore. Highlighting her second year at UVU was a career night where she had 29 points and 10 rebounds against Chicago State. Those 29 points came on a perfect shooting performance as she went 10-for-10 from the field (2-2 3FG), and 7-of-7 from the free throw line. By the end of the year, however, Deijah wasn't happy where she was at and felt that transferring would be best for both herself and the team.

After getting her release papers, Deijah turned to her high school coach for advice. He ended up getting in touch with Coach Inoue, who was already aware of Deijah's abilities on the court after coaching against her in the Western Athletic Conference, and believed she could be an asset in UCI's rebuilding process.   

Deijah also knew it was the right fit for her thanks to the support and family atmosphere she felt on her visit and during her redshirt season.

"It was nice having four other players redshirting," Blanks said. "We got to bond, have fun and travel together. On my first visit, Shereen (Sutherland) was someone who talked to me about the school, the academics and how rigorous it is. She kind of showed me the ropes of where to go and where to find everything."
 

MORE ABOUT DEIJAH...
Favorite sports teams
NFL - New York Jets
NBA - OKC Thunder
WNBA - Atlanta Dream, LA Sparks and Seattle Storm
 
Describe your team in one word.
Powerhouse.
 
Dream vacation destination
Brazil
 
What is your post-collegiate goal?
My goal is to go to PT school.
 
Which talent or reality TV show would you most like to appear on?
I would want to be on World of Dance. I've been watching Les Twins forever. In middle school, we started taking dancing seriously, so when I found them, I wanted to be like them.



MEET THE NEWCOMERS SERIES
Haleigh Talbert
Yazzy Sa'Dullah
Tahlia Garza
Morgan Green
Jordan Sanders
Lauren Saiki