Big West Countdown, #5 UC Davis

Can Ty Johnson make it consecutive BW POYs for Davis?

Quick Bite: Davis returns the leading returning conference scorer in All Big West 2^nd teamer Ty Johnson but loses the services of the Big West POY Elijah Pepper.  They exceeded expectations last year with a 3rd place finish and a close loss to Long Beach in the BWT final.  It was their best year since the 2017-18 season when they finished first in the conference regular season. Their defense led the way with the best scoring defense in the conference. The Aggies will lean on Central Arkansas transfer guard Carl Daugherty to help make up for the loss of Pepper.  The Aggies are one of those teams that the sum is often greater than the parts.  

2023-2024 Record: 20-13, 14-6 (3rd in the BWC)

Head Coach
Jim Les enters his 14^th season at the helm of the Aggies.  At Davis he has a record of 195-199, 110-96 in BW play.  He is 349-339 when you add his 9 years at Bradley.  In the 2014-15 season the Aggies won the Big West regular season and played in the NIT after losing in the semifinals.  In 2017 the Aggies won their first and only BWT and won their First Four game before being blown out in the first round by #1 seed Kansas.  In 2018, the Aggies won the regular season title but were upset in the BWT semi-finals by Fullerton then lost in the 1^st round of the NIT to Utah.  Since then, Davis has finished between 4^th and 7^th.

Prior to Davis, Les had a successful stint at Bradley, his alma mater, including a run to the Sweet 16 in 2006.  After graduating from Bradley, Les played 7 seasons in the NBA, leading the league in 3 Pt % in the 1990-91 season.

ROSTER OVERVIEW

Probable Starters  
Guard Ty Johnson 

Guard Carl Daugherty

Guard Leo Debruhl

Forward Nico Rocak

Forward Jac Mani 

Key Departures
Guard Elijah Pepper #40 6’4”, 200 lb. 5^th Year Senior  22.5 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 3.4 apg, 1.6 spg, 36 mpg.  All BW 1^st Team, led the conference  in scoring and FT makes (82%). Leads all returning players in 3 point makes. 

Guard Kane Milling #0  6’4”, 180 lb. Senior 7ppg, 4.4 rpg, 1.5 apg, 28 mpg, 32% from 3. Started 14 games, 3^rd leading 3pt shooter. Started career at Nevada

Wing Ade Adebayo #24 6'5" 205 lb 5^th year Senior, 4 ppg, 4 rpg, 28 mpg.  Started 28 of the 30 games he played.
 
Top Returnees
Guard Ty Johnson  #2  6’3”, 190 lb. Junior 14.5 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 2.5 apg, 1.8 spg, 28 mpg. Started career at Loyola Chicago
Forward Nico Rocak #20  6’9”, 220 lb, Junior 1.9 ppg, 1.9 rpg, 9 mpg Played all 32 games.  Former walk-on, started career at UCSB.
Guard Leo Debruhl  #10  6’2”, 190 lb, Junior, 4.6 ppg, 1.7 apg, 2.3 rpg, 18 mpg.  Started 2 games

Key Newcomers

Guard Carl Daugherty #1  6’3”, 200 lb, Senior, transfer from Central Arkansas, 9.9 ppg, 2.7 rpg,

Guard Nils Cooper #36  6’6”, 185 lb, Sophomore, transfer from Pepperdine. 5 ppg, 2.8 rpg,

Wing Derek Sangster #6  6’7”, 200 lb, Sophomore, transfer from Princeton, DNP there.

Forward Isaiah Chappel  #20  6’9”, 225 lb. Freshman, Chose Davis over several other mid-majors. 

Other Players

Wing Pablo Tamba #8 6'7" Junior Transfer from Indian River College, started at Idaho St where he barely played.  From Spain. 

Forward Francesco Borra #55  6’11”, 255 lb, 4^th Year Junior, Played 12 games, 9 mpg.  From Italy
Forward Jac Mani  #11  6’9”, 217 lb. RS Freshman, 5 ppg, 1.7 rpg Played just 3 games before injury forced RS his first year, DNP last year.  Chose Davis over Poly & UCR among others. 

Guard Sione Lose #22  6’4”, 170 lb, RS Sophomore, played 29 games, 1.9 rpg, 12 mpg.local kid from Sacramento

Guard Marsalis Roberson #5 6’6” 200 lb, Junior, transfer from Cal where he played sparingly.  DNP last year for Davis.

Forward Jamaal Unuakhalu  #44  6’7”, 215 lb. Junior. Transfer from Moorpark CC

Guard Connor Sevilla #4  6’0”, Sophomore, Walk-on

Forward Lukas Prongosl  #25  6’6”, 235 lb. Senior, Walk-on

Guard Jacob Gilchrist  #34  6’7”, 185 lb. Freshman

2024-25 UC Davis Non-Conference Schedule

Davis will be challenged early in the non-conference season with road games at Washington, Stanford and Grand Canyon.  Aside from that, the schedule is fairly easy and the Aggies should enter conference play on a roll and with a winning record.  They have just two D1 home games, vs. Norfolk St and Idaho.

Thoughts

Last year Davis exceeded expectations because they had the best defense in the conference.  Of course, it didn’t hurt having the best player in the conference in Elijah Pepper but it was their defense that enabled them to get within just a couple buckets of the NCAA tournament.  It won’t be possible to replace Pepper with a single player but on the defensive side, Coach Less did well by landing Carl Daugherty out of Central Arkansas.  While no slouch on the offensive side of the ball, averaging 9.9 ppg for UCA, Daugherty should help keep the Aggie defense near the top of the conference.  Also going for the Aggies is holding on to Ty Johnson who had temporarily entered the portal.  Johnson is the leading returning scorer in the Big West and the top POY candidate.   Adding depth to the backcourt is Junior Leo Debruhl who should have an increased role this year.

In the years since Davis won the Big West back in 2018, their biggest deficiency has been the frontcourt, wasting years of some of the best guard play the Big West has had.  Last year was not much different in that the Aggies were one of the worst rebounding teams in the conference and the bulk of offensive production was from the 1-3 positions.  They do return their leading rebounder Nico Rocak, the former walk-on, and have an intriguing forward in Jac Manni who enters his third year at Davis yet has hardly played due to injury.  

If Davis plays defense the way they did last year, they’ll remain in the top half of the conference.  For them to break through and get their first championship since 2018, they will have to see a major improvement in their frontcourt.  It is almost a given that their backcourt will be strong.   I am giving them an upside of second but they are a darkhorse candidate to win it all.

 
Upside 2^nd, downside, 6th
Predicted record (overall, BWC): 19-12, 12-8
 
The Arena:  The Credit Union Center, formerly known as the Pavilion, was built in 1977.  At 6,003 it is the second largest arena in the Big West, after Hawaii.  Regardless, the town of Davis is one of the best college towns in the West, offers a plethora of pre-game options including Parkside, Froggy’s and Burgers & Brew.  It’s about a 2.5 mile drive to the arena so plan accordingly.   Beer is served in the arena.

Official Site: https://ucdavisaggies.com/sports/mens-basketball
Message Board:    https://www.aggiesportstalk.com/categor ... lton-court

By the Numbers

Summary:  The Big West’s 3rd place team had the conference’s best defense, was mediocre on offense, had a negative rebounding margin and played a somewhat slow tempo.  They were the best in the conference in getting to the line and were second in scoring from beyond the arc. They rank in the top half of the conference in way of returning production.