I read something on Gio Nelson's twitter account a couple of weeks ago that he had surgery for an ACL.

That's too bad for the kid...rough way to spend half of your senior year.

It appears that freshman forward Peter Hewitt 6'9 215 will be transferring:

http://www.verbalcommits.com/players/peter-hewitt

Good luck to the young man.

Damn. He was a top 10 NorCal player and top 40 nationwide PF. Good luck to him.

I'm guessing that with the addition of "bigs" Johns and Strom, and only loosing JT, playing time was going to be a concern. Over the years, Les has shown a preference for only using 4 post players (at most), and with Chima/Goode/Henn locked in, competition for the 4th spot is going to be rugged.

Per Verbal Commits, it looks like we have two "scholarship spots" open for next year. They have Johns listed as a walk on, so maybe one more newcomer?

Aggie recruit TJ Shorts from Saddleback College was named SoCal Player of the Year by Signal the Light Basketball:

"T.J Shorts (Saddleback) is our player of the year for Southern California for the 2016-2017 season."

https://twitter.com/sgnlthelgthoops

Shorts, a 5'10 PG recently had 33 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists as Saddleback won the Riverside Tournament. It looks like we might have two dynamos at PG next year with 5' 10 Shorts and 5'8 Hennings.

That's great to hear. We are going to need some offensive punch from the perimeter next year.

+2

Here is the official announcement by the Athletics Department about Delveion Jackson signing with UCD:

Excerpt: “Delveion is a do-it-all type player,” said Centennial High School head coach Josh Apperspach. “He can score, pass and rebounds very well for a guard. The thing I love most about him is that he loves to play defense; he’s long, athletic and creates problems for teams. He will be a good fit at UC Davis.”

http://www.ucdavisaggies.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/041317aaa.html

A 6'6 guard!

We have a new commit from the Juco ranks. Per Verbalcommits.Colin Russell, 6'9", 225#s, Folsom High, to Portland, to Wyoming JC.

http://www.verbalcommits.com/players/colin-russell

"6-foot-9 Colin (Folsom High) Russell is at Casper College (WY) this season and his numbers to date:

* 17.3 minutes per game, 12 games, 12 starts
* 9.5 points
* shooting 70.8% overall (no three attempts) and 29.3% from the foul line
* 5.8 rebounds
* 10 blocked shots"

Makes sense that we'd be signing a JC big, considering our recent losses. Nice to have another kid from the area.

From a discussion about Russell on the Portland Pilots forum it seems that the Aggies recruited Russell out of high school as a preferred walk-on but he went to Portland on a scholarship. Then, after very limited minutes in his freshman year, it appears that the Portland coach decided that Russell no longer fit into his plans so Russell left for Casper College. He recently visited NAU and was offered and also made a visit to Hawaii before visiting UCD.

http://www.pilotnation.net/t5754-colin-russell-to-transfer

He looks to be quite agile for 6'9 and has nice post moves in the paint and is versatile with either hand. None of his highlights show him scoring from anywhere but in the paint though. On the down side, his FT shooting leaves a lot to be desired and, given that Garrison Goode is also poor from the line, the pair of them on the floor at the same time could leave a lot of points at the FT line.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQF_qrZNXgM

I think that Mikey Henn is a significant loss for the Aggies. He's was big body with a good inside/outside game and he was a hard worker who wasn't afraid to mix it up inside. Hopefully, with two years of college basketball experience under his belt, Russell will come in as a mature player ready to give us some needed help in the paint and on the boards with Henn and Hewitt both leaving.

30% from the line?! :-O

Pair him up with a coach and have him shoot FT's all day long in the gym!

Maybe it was because he was shooting the ball at 7,000 feet. Too much oompf?

That kind of percentage, I wonder if he needs his shot broken down and reworked, a bit late now.

It's never too late to do it. Steph Curry reworked his shot after college and it was well worth.

If Lonzo Ball wants to make a contested jump shot without watching the ball go into the fifth row he'll be reworking his right now.

It takes a big commitment from the player, coaching staff, and likely a shooting coach.

Russell should hook up with Ryan Sypkens who I believe is in the area as a shooting coach. He knows something about how to shoot a basketball.

Another video, no jump shots

He's very agile for being 6'9 - 6'10 and moves his feet well on defense. He can also drive the ball to the hoop which is impressive for a player his size. I think Coach Les probably likes is ability to defend since he emphasizes defense first and foremost.

G Stefan Gonzalez transferring to UC Davis from St. Mary's.

https://mobile.twitter.com/Stef_Gonzalez2

He was going to be squeezed for playing time as Bennett was going to fill Rahon's minutes with Jordan Ford.

Do we really need another guard?

Yes. We need another point guard after he sits out a year.

http://godisagael.yuku.com/topic/8181/Gonzalez-transferring#.WP13ANLyvx4

http://idahostatejournal.com/pocatello/local-sports-gonzalez-transfering-from-saint-mary-s/article_539dc7f2-b766-5d28-b437-b2836cb1d663.html

I think Gonzalez is a great addition for the Aggies. I know that Les tends to be guard heavy but Gonzalez appears to have the ability to be a proficient and prolific shooter. I remember Coach Les saying that something he learned from Kansas coach, Bill Self, was to never let your team become "guard poor." That said, I'd like to see us bring in a big, strong PF or C that will be able to fill the shoes of Chima after next year.

Stefan Gonzalez shot 51.7% from 3 in high school and 48% while he was at St. Mary's. As per D1 transfer rules he must sit out next season before joining the Aggies with 2 years of eligibility left.

Official Aggie Athletics announcement: http://www.ucdavisaggies.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/042717aac.html

new offer made last week to 6'1" point guard Marcus Shaver Jr. A 3 star out of Arizona. Has 10 other offers.
For 2018, Les has 9 offers out right now and even one for 2019

http://verbalcommits.com/schools/uc-davis

Bruce Gallaudet wrote a good article about the new Aggie basketball recruits we have signed. All of the new players are high character individuals. Some of the recurring themes about why they chose to come to Davis are the coach, the school and the great basketball culture that has been established.

http://www.davisenterprise.com/sports/aggies-say-goodbye-while-all-eyes-are-on-the-hardcourt-future/

Marcus Shaver Jr has signed LOI with Portland