VANCOUVER – UBC Thunderbirds men's basketball is proud to introduce Dominic Gilbert as the program's latest recruit for the 2015-16 Canada West season.

Gilbert is a 6-foot-6 wing player from Sydney, Australia, who has played basketball in North America the last two seasons.

"I chose to attend UBC because I felt that it was the perfect fit for me in the classroom and on the court," said Gilbert. "Going to UBC gives me a great opportunity to obtain an invaluable education and to play basketball at a high level."

In Australia, Gilbert played basketball at Trinity Grammar School in Sydney, earning a place on the all-conference team in 2011-12 and 2012-13, and a spot on the all-state team as well in 2012-13. In his final season at Trinity Grammar, he averaged 19.3 points, 13.3 rebounds and 5.7 assists per game.

Gilbert moved to the United States and played high school basketball at Copiah Academy in Gallman, Miss., where he averaged 17.3 points, 10.1 rebounds and 5.4 assists per outing, with a 48 per cent field goal percentage. He hit 35.1 per cent of his shots from behind the three-point line during his lone season in Mississippi.

After graduating from Copiah, Gilbert completed a year of prep school in the spring of 2015.

"We are very excited to welcome Dominic to our program," said UBC head coach Kevin Hanson. "He is a character guy that has all the makings of being a great student- athlete at UBC. He has a very good understanding of the game and has a great work ethic.

"Dominic is a good-sized wing and a physical player who can shoot the ball. In the classroom, he is a brilliant student. He is a straight 'A' student who's focused and very driven. His desire to be a high achiever is a trait that attracted us to him right away."

In the fall, Gilbert will join Taylor Browne (Surrey, B.C.), Philip Jalalpoor (Shifferstadt, Germany) and Roger Milne (Winnipeg) as the newest Thunderbirds in the men's basketball program, which will welcome the nation to campus March 17-20, 2016, when the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre hosts the CIS Men's Basketball Final 8 championship tournament.