He was definitely a transfer from Santa Barbara. I think that was the point of that comment, that he wasn't the right fit at SB and not what they were looking for, but that Les doesn't look for those same things in his bigs. And because of that, Rocak is fitting in at Davis.

https://ucsbgauchos.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/niko-rocak/599 — MTBAggie

In SB he couldn't show the style of play that the coach wanted.

Rocak was huge in the win over Irvine...6 blocks against the kind of size Irvine has...amazing... I should have bet on them on a site like Casino360 — BlueGoldAg

Yeah, the guy did good job. He looks really good. 6 blocks - I was impressed.

Great interview with Pepper. He turned down a "big time offer from a big time program" to play here in his final season and graduate from Davis. That's something we don't see much of anymore with players jumping from program to program via the portal.

I think that there are several other players who could have jumped into the portal but didn’t. Most notably LL and TT. That is a testament to their loyalty to the team, university and, most importantly to their teammates. That intangible kind of stuff is noted by the scouts as a component of a winning personality and a strong locker room culture. I would empathize that I am in no way criticizing those players who did transfer out. Every case is different. Simply said,. Eli is a great player and person.