Veterans, defense will be key for UCD men’s resurrection - Davis Enterprise

After losing his two leading scorers and top two rebounders from a year ago, Aggie men’s basketball coach Jim Les is nonetheless confident that UC Davis can improve on last year’s disappointing and uncharacteristic 11-20 record; a mark that included 7-9 in Big West play and a first-round exit from the conference tournament.

“I’m excited about who we have coming back and some of the new kids who have joined us,” said Les. “I’m a little reluctant to talk about last year. I’ve moved on. It’s over.”

Before moving on, however, Les revisit that season…

“Last year, as a program, we didn’t handle success very well. Having a number of seniors coming back from a championship team is unusual, but to our detriment, we didn’t handle being at that championship level of success and carry it over with the right mental attitude to take the next step. That mentality makes you a champion.”

Added Les: “That falls on me. I’m the head coach and that’s my responsibility. I won’t make that mistake twice. We will be ready to play when they toss the ball up.”

That first “toss” will occur Tuesday at the home of 2018 Final Four participant Loyola of Chicago, with the first home game Nov. 7 against William Jessup.

Despite being picked in a league media poll to finish eighth in the nine-team Big West Conference, Les feels the Aggies have the potential to be in the mix for a conference championship and post-season play.

Les describes this year’s roster as “an unusual mix” that includes four fifth-year seniors and seven newcomers, five of whom are freshmen.

Back for their final campaign are Joe Mooney, Matt Neufeld, Stefan Gonzalez and Rogers Printup.

“What I love about this senior group is they are locked in and focused,” Les said. “They have a tremendous work ethic and great practice habits and have completely bought into our culture. They bring the togetherness that we need, plus they’re leading the young kids on the team by example and teaching them what it means to play at this level and to be a part of this team.”

Les cited his four seniors for their rock-solid leadership, adding “What I really like about them is they are just great kids. They are invested in these young guys and showing them how hard you need to work in practice and what togetherness really means to a team. They are unbelievable ambassadors for our program.”

He also believes both the Illinois native Mooney and Saint Mary’s transfer Gonzalez are among the top outside shooters in the country.

Les hastens to add that he includes returning sophomore swingmen Brit Caleb Fuller and Canadian Damion Squire as veterans who also are helping to show the newcomers the ropes.

“(Fuller and Squire) are two quality young men who mean a lot to our program,” Les said.

While the five freshmen have yet to prove themselves at the collegiate level, there’s no denying their impressive accomplishments in high school.

Elijah Pepper is a 6-4 product of Selah High (Washington) who was named the state 2A player of the year and scored 1,650 points in his prep career.

“He just scores instinctively in a variety of ways,” said Les of Pepper. “He’s also a really good passer who works hard and is such a good competitor.”

Ezra Manjon, a 5-11 point guard from Heritage High in Brentwood, led his team to a 29-3 record and a CIF North Division 1 championship, earning All-Bay Area honors in the process.

“Ezra is quick, fast and dynamic, plus he’s an awfully good on-ball defender,” says his coach. “He can be a real disrupter to the other team’s offense.”

Ade Adebayo, a 6-4 mechanical engineering major from London, will be counted on for his defense, according to Les.

“He has a great wing span,” Les points out. “He can be a lock-down stopper and a huge asset for our team. He’s growing every day into that role.”

Fuller and Adebayo were teammates at the Barking Abbey School in England. Fans should look for instant chemistry there.

Les also is high on Kennedy Koehler, a transfer from Tucson’s Pima Community College. Koehler averaged 19 points and 10.7 rebounds a game last year in leading the Aztecs to a 29-7 mark.

Now in his ninth season at UC Davis, Jim Les played seven seasons in the NBA for Utah, the L.A. Clippers, Sacramento and Atlanta. He led the league in 3-point shooting percentage (46.1) during the 1990-91 season with the Kings.

As he has throughout his coaching career, Les insists that defense comes first.

“When we (first) evaluated our league, we saw it was all about offense,” Les said.

“We knew that defense was the standard we wanted to set here. We want to defend with a purpose and make it extremely hard on every possession for the other guys to score. It’s easier to be consistent night in and night out on defense than on offense.”

Added the Aggie coach, “I insist on great defensive effort, but the flip side of that is I give the guys a lot of freedom on offense. I tell the kids we’re going to play our defenders first. You may be able to score 15 points a game, but if you can’t play defense, you won’t be playing.

“That should always be our staple, Always be physical. Defense keeps you in the game.”

Notes: Also hoping to make their marks at UCD will be Wesley Harris and Aaron Murphy. Both are 6-6 forwards. Harris is a junior transfer from Otero JC (Arizona) and Murphy is a freshman by way of Modesto Christian. B.J. Shaw, another 6-6 frontman, comes to town from Brewster Prep Academy (N.H.). Cameron Ba (St. Joseph/Notre Dame) returns as a redshirt freshman with 6-7 forward Oliver Gehrke in from Jåmtland Gymnasium Wargentim (Stockholm).

— Reach Bob Dunning at [email protected]

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