Jim Les and the administrators at UC Davis knew that if the Aggies were going to move forward in basketball, things had to be done differently.

When Les became the first national “big-name” hire in UCD history one year ago this week, expectations — overnight — became high.

At first blush, that 5-26 clunker of a season doesn’t sound like the right direction.

Then came a handful of post-season defections.

Utah’s Mr. Basketball Tyrell Corbin (son of Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin) announced he’s transferring. Harrison DuPont, a hard-nosed frontline player, and big men Alex Tiffin and unused Mike Kurtz also won’t return to the roster, although DuPont and Kurtz are expected to remain enrolled at UCD.

But, before you rush off thinking there’s trouble in Aggie Land, relax. Most coaches would have folded with the hand Les was dealt — especially after leading scorer Ryan Sypkens went down with a knee injury after just four games.

But UCD plodded on and all the time Les was teaching, working toward the future. Making a new direction clear, Les provided guys like Tiffin and Corbin a chance to rethink their basketball futures.

Les, like any new coach, needs to make the UCD program his own. A certain number of defections can be expected.

“It’s one of those things that when you have a changeover of coaches, you’ll have differences of opinion, style,” Les said recently. “I wish those (leaving) players well and thank them for their contributions and their honesty.

“But we have a couple of older, experienced and physically more mature players coming — and getting Ryan back will be a big help,” Les added.

Those “older, experienced” players are junior college recruits Spencer Clayton (Mt. Hood College, Oregon) and Clint Bozner (Los Angeles Trade Tech).

Les recognized his Aggies were cannon fodder inside. Outrebounded by an average of six boards a night, the big problem was denying shots in the paint.

With the 6-foot-10 Clayton and 6-8 Bozner, Les expects more of a no-fly zone down deep. Thanks to longtime Aggie staffer Kevin Nosek and new addition Chris Davis (a former Providence assistant), recruiting will be a priority with much-improved results, Les promises.

“Our staff … wanted to add athleticism and size. With Clint and Spencer, we can say our goal was accomplished in a big way,” Les explained. “We love the quality and character of both these student-athletes, and we expect them to contribute to our program immediately.”

Clayton, a Cama High (Washington) graduate, was the Northwest Athletic Conference MVP, averaging 14 ppg and more than 10 boards a game at Mt. Hood. UCD’s top rebounder last winter was Ryan Howley (5.6 ppg).

Bozner, from Villa Park High, was an All-South Coast Conference first-teamer.

Mix in earlier commitments from Sacramento High’s Darius Graham (5-10 point guard), Tyler Ott, a 6-5 forward from Desert Hills in St. George, Utah., and 6-2 guard Olivier-Paul Betu from Worcester Academy in Massachusetts and Les’ new-look Aggies are starting to shape up.

Sure, some familiar, talented names remain: Josh Ritchart, Howley, Sypkens and Tyler Les, among others.

But rest assured, the recent rework in UCD basketball is clearly a step in that right direction.

And 5-26?

Aggie fans can rest assured it will soon be distant memory.

— Bruce Gallaudet is a staff writer for The Davis Enterprise. Reach him at [email protected] or (530) 747-8047.

Comments

comments