RI Native Heads North
In the midst of the June scholastic periods, Vermont Academy and Rhode Island Elite guard Darius Lopes announced his commitment to the UMaine Black Bears.
Lopes is coming off a big season with Vermont Academy where he was a big contributor to their NEPSAC AAA title.
In two years with the Wildcats, Lopes was a consistent option at the guard spot, making a name for himself early on as a sophomore.
In April of 2023, he received his first scholarship offer from Albany after an impact sophomore season. Since then, he picked up offer from Siena, UMBC, Fordham and Maine.
Lopes is a smooth scoring guard with crafty skills and change of pace to get through opposing defenses. He can score it from all over, and has great passing vision to find open teammates. In his time at Vermont, he compiled numerous 20+ point 5+ assist outings.
On the defensive end, he is a pesky on-ball defender with quick footwork that can read opposing guards next move and grab steals. In Chris Markwood’s defensive driven system, Lopes’ defensive skills will be a hot commodity.
Prior to reclassifying into the class of 2025 at Vermont Academy, Lopes was a standout at Bishop Hendricken in Rhode Island.
With his commitment to Maine, he became just the third player to make it to the Division One level from West Warwick.
Outside of high school play, the guard has been a longtime member of the Rhode Island Elite PRO16 program.
Program Director and Head Coach Nick Light expressed a lot of excitement in seeing Darius play at the next level: “Everyone at RI Elite is beyond happy for Darius and his family on his commitment to Maine! A member of our program for 5 years, Darius is one of the hardest working guys we’ve ever had,” he said mentioning the long relationship between Darius and his family, and the RI Elite program.
He went on to say, “Maine and Coach Markwood are an amazing fit for Darius, their style of play is one Darius will THRIVE in! It’s been a blessing to be apart of Darius’s journey and we can’t wait to watch him succeed at the next level!”
When we asked Darius about his choice, he kept it short and sweet: “I chose Maine because of the coaching staff. I feel like they really believe in my ability and have high expectations for me.”
Finding the right fit with a new program can be a tough task, but for Darius Lopes, it sounds like he has found a good landing spot.
Darius Lopes