“When you lose guys either to graduation or the portal, you have to look at your roster and say here are the weaknesses, here are the gaps we need to fill. No one person is going to replace Ezra, but we feel we’ve brought in some people who are going to contribute right away.”

Division I transfers include 6-3 Ty Johnson from Loyola Chicago, 6-3 Robby Beasley III from Montana, 6-7 DeAndre Henry from Nevada and 6-9 Niko Rocak from UC Santa Barbara.

Other newcomers are 6-7 freshman Joaquin Strong from Playa Del Rey, 6-9 Jac Mani from Beverly Hills and 6-7 Sam Manu from College of San Mateo.

Noted Les, “We feel we have six guards who can really play, plus the leadership of this group is excellent, with Elijah and Christian at the head of that list. Kane Milling really started to come around at the end of last year and Ade Adebayo is great at playing multiple positions. Those four are a really solid foundation.”

“When you lose guys either to graduation or the portal, you have to look at your roster and say here are the weaknesses, here are the gaps we need to fill. No one person is going to replace Ezra, but we feel we’ve brought in some people who are going to contribute right away.”

Division I transfers include 6-3 Ty Johnson from Loyola Chicago, 6-3 Robby Beasley III from Montana, 6-7 DeAndre Henry from Nevada and 6-9 Niko Rocak from UC Santa Barbara.

Other newcomers are 6-7 freshman Joaquin Strong from Playa Del Rey, 6-9 Jac Mani from Beverly Hills and 6-7 Sam Manu from College of San Mateo.

Noted Les, “We feel we have six guards who can really play, plus the leadership of this group is excellent, with Elijah and Christian at the head of that list. Kane Milling really started to come around at the end of last year and Ade Adebayo is great at playing multiple positions. Those four are a really solid foundation.”

The Aggies played four games in Europe in August, a trip that the NCAA allows a team to take once every four years.

UCD went 4-0 on the tour, playing in Croatia, Italy and Bosnia.

“It was very good for us,” said the Aggie coach.

“We feel because of the trip we’re a little bit ahead of schedule. It really helped us as a team to travel together like that. It was the perfect complement to our summer workouts. In addition to working on our basketball skills, we really rely on the relationships we built during that trip.

“I feel that really good things are going to happen with this group. I like their willingness to be coached and ability to play an up-tempo pace on both ends of the floor. The work ethic and the practice ethic of this team is off the charts. Now it’s just a matter of doing it when the lights come on.”