“Back in March, I didn’t think we’d still be dealing with it in August, but here we are,” added Les, who is entering his 10th season with the Aggies.
“We haven’t done anything with our guys. Usually, for the summer session of school, all the guys are here and we’re back in the weight room and back in the gym.”
Summer classes began Aug. 2 at UCD.
Les said he and his staff allowed the players to decide where they wanted to hole up this month.
“We said, ‘If you’re going to be better served to be here — academically and health-wise be in a better position — then come back.
” ‘If not, and you feel like you’re in a safe situation at home and can get your schoolwork done (online), then you should stay home.’ “
Les said “that’s where we’re at” with the preparation for the basketball season. In essence, in limbo.
Two freshman international players — Italy’s Francesco Borra (JSerra High) and Estonia guard Ron Pehka — have joined a handful of Aggie teammates in town.
“They’ve been going to class remotely and have been hanging out in their dorms or apartments in quarantine so we can keep our campus and our team as safe and healthy as possible,” Les explained.
One silver lining in the interruption of collegiate sports, says Les, is the opportunity to reflect on and discuss social injustice, inclusion and equality.
It’s not that Les and other members of the UC Davis athletic department haven’t been sensitive to social issues in the past. (The school has a diversity, inclusion and equity policy in place to which coaches and players subscribe.) But in recent months, Les and company have committed to the National Basketball Association of Coaches’ “Coaches for Change” pledge.
Under those new guidelines, Les pointed out, schools promise not to play games or hold practices on Election Day (Nov. 3) and to continue to engage in dialogue regarding racial and social issues.
“Those are things we’re going to be focusing on when all the guys get back to campus,” promises Les, who has been involved in department conversations about racial injustice and has conducted “a number of Zoom meetings dedicated to our guys being able to express themselves … talk about some of their experiences and to talk about some of the ways we want to, as a team, be a part of the vehicle for change.”
Les added: “It’s been a time to reflect, but it’s also been a really good time — because we all get so busy — to stop and communicate. For me, it has been a great time to listen to my players.
“Now, how can we as a group (get) better being a part of the change we want to see in our society?
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