Thanks for the portal survey. I remember Dan Hawkins saying something about not being able to use the portal that much because of the difficulty of getting many of the players into Davis when transferring from another school. I would expect that the same thing applies to Jim Les and the basketball program too but, then again, Les has brought in a few transfers recently: Rocak, Johnson, Milling, Tamba, Roberson...

Regarding the admission challenge . . . I, too, heard that from Hawk. I've heard a few whispers in Athletics that the admission problem is being addressed and remedied. No verifiable intel, but those are a few "whispers" I've heard. Plainly, Davis needs a sensible "lane" in order to get student-athletes in to school in line with the pace and timing of other schools. Some of our best, most locked-in transfer recruits have signed elsewhere because we couldn't notify them of admission quickly enough. Obviously a risk not worth taking.

Cal has some guys in the portal that would look good in an Aggie uniform. Peja Stojaković's kid, Andrej (formerly of Jesuit), is leaving Stanford after a productive freshman season. Playing close to home might be an attractive option for him. And I'm sure Coach Les and Peja are very familiar with one another. The Ivies also have a couple of grads in the portal.

Andrej Stojaković would be a sensational addition to the Aggies and I'd love to see him here. He'd thrive under a great coach like Jim Les and, like you said, he'd be able to play close to home. It appears that academics may be important to him as well since he chose Stanford over many of the top college teams in the nation.

However, I think it's highly unlikely that he'd choose the Aggies over a lot of the bigger, elite programs that will be chasing after him with promises of playing at the at the highest level of college basketball along with some big NIL money to boot. He turned down offers from most of the major D1 programs in the nation to play at Stanford including Duke, UCLA, Oregon, Kentucky, Connecticut and Kansas to name a few and you know many of them will be drooling now that he is in the portal.

Even though he played his high school ball at Jesuit, we didn't offer him probably because Les knew he had very little chance to sign him considering he was the #18 ranked 5 star recruit in the nation. He was offered by USF, Saint Mary's, Santa Barbara and Cal Poly though.

I'll keep my fingers crossed that Jim Les may have special relationship ties with the Stojaković family!

UCSD's outstanding guard, Bryce Pope, has entered the portal. He was named to the All Big West First Team this year. San Diego finished second in the conference this year but was ineligible for the BW Tournament due to being in the final year of their 4 year transition. They look like they were set to be a major contender again for next year but losing Pope is a big blow to them.

I think it is surprising that he's transferring since he's a local kid who played his high school ball at Torrey Pines HS. I think he'd be a great replacement for Pepper if Les could land him.

I’m assuming he’s graduating since he’s played 4 seasons after redshirting his freshman year. Must want to take his COVID year at a higher level

Verbalcommits.com is currently reporting that there are 1007 players in the D1 basketball portal.

!!!

Aboubacar Traoré, Lassina Traoré and A.J. George from Long Beach State have entered the portal.

wow, that’s a big hit

Yes it is. That's essentially the heart of the team.

I’m wondering is this the what the future holds for college sports? Everyone hits the portal because why not give it a shot? Is there any disadvantage for doing so?

In my opinion as someone whose career was spent in higher education, the disadvantage of transfer is disruption in one's education. For those select few who can get a career in pro basketball, this is not an issue. For those who move from a very good school (e.g. UC Davis) with a good major fit for them to a school at a lower academic level and lacking a good fit for their major, it could mean losing a lot of potential for their future, and not just in terms of dollars. The reverse is also true. Anyone transferring into a UC school, is likely to gain a better education as well, depending on the school from which they transfer.

Good information toke. Stay on this as we need you.

The exodus from Long Beach State continues as their second leading scorer, Jadon Jones, enters the portal. Their leading scorer, Marcos Tsohonis, was a senior and now Jones is leaving along with both Traorés and George. The whole starting lineup is leaving.

It looks like The Beach will hire Chris Aker, assistant coach from San Diego State.

Currently at Stanford, assistant coach and Aggie alum Rob Ehsan is expected to be named as next men’s basketball coach at The University of Illinois-Chicago. The Flames play in the Missouri Valley Conference, and their mascot is Sparky D. Dragon.

There are now 1323 players in the portal as of today.

None named TY Johnson. Hopefully that doesn’t change.

Maybe noted wine aficionado and UCD Viticulture executive board member Dwayne Wade can get his former teammate's son--rumored to also be in the portal--to come to Davis...

:lol:

TY is in the portal, per verbal commits and his IG feed.

shit

My thoughts exactly.

I was holding out hope that he might stay since he hadn’t jumped in with the rest

The news of T.Y. entering the portal shocks me. He gets playing time and has improved his skills as a player over the past few years. Davis is also a guard-happy program so not sure what he is looking for except perhaps the ability to play on a bigger stage.

I would love him to stay in Davis, but I hope for recruiting purposes, we assume he is not coming back. Hopefully, we can find someone that is a better fit for our team.

Overall, I believe Davis has benefited from the inflow of players verse the painful outflow. For this year, current portal transfers into our roster included: Milling, Johnson, Roberson, Tamba, and Rocak. I know Roberson was hurt the entire season, but everyone else were great contributors. The only impact player I can think of that left Davis over the past few years to the portal was Manjon.

Good luck T.Y. to wherever you go (unless you transfer to Sac State and in that case i hope you rot in Hell).

This sucks!

I hate to see him go but hard to not understand why he might leave. Check the final four (or sweet sixteen) - it’s full of mid major transfers. If he wants to go to the tournament, this is his only hope. Had we beat LBSU, maybe he stays?

I know, I know, Davis degree….but those days are long gone with the portal and NIL.

Check the final four (or sweet sixteen) - it’s full of mid major transfers. If he wants to go to the tournament, this is his only hope. — DrMike

I know, I know, Davis degree….but those days are long gone with the portal and NIL. — DrMike

This sucks big time but, honestly, I expected it. It's simply a sign of the times in college basketball and football especially for mid-major basketball programs and FCS football programs. It's rare that a mid-major player as talented as Eli Pepper, for example, will stay with the mid-major program once they realize that they can play on a bigger state and those big programs come calling. Most players nowadays head out for the brighter lights and the opportunity to earn some money.

I expect that Les will continue to find "diamonds in the rough" and develop them into elite players only to see them hit the portal and leave at some point. Mid-major basketball programs and FCS football programs have now become the "minor league, development programs" for the bigger schools.

Verbalcommits.com is confirming that TY is in the portal.

https://verbalcommits.com/players/ty-johnson2

I wonder if TY looked around and decided that next year will be a rebuild that he didn't want to be part of?

Don’t these guys scout out the possibilities before they jump into the portal. I know that Brooke Yanez was actively contacted by oregon before she Jumped. By the way what is the status of their scholarship while the are in the portal?

So TY is going into his senior year. Maybe its different now, but it used to be that you needed a minimum number of units from the school you would be graduating from to get a degree. For example, you couldn’t transfer to Stanford from SLAC your last term and get a Stanford degree. So I assume TY would not be getting a degree from his new school?