UCD head coach Jim Les enters his seventh year at Aggie helm. Sue Cockrell/ Enterprise photo

After a season with a first-ever appearance in the NCAA tournament (and a win in the First Four segment), an eye-popping reversal of fortune in two games with UC Irvine and a brilliant all-Big West season from forward Chima Moneke, the Aggies won’t be sneaking up on anyone.

At the same time, having graduated five grounded seniors like leading scorer Brynton Lemar, a lot of folks might believe UCD is rebuilding.

UCD, under the guidance of seventh-year head coach Jim Les, just concluded its first week of season lead-in practice. What Les has to say about his 2017-18 edition should get the attention of any naysayers …

“On paper, top to bottom, we’re probably a more talented team than we were a year ago,” Les told The Enterprise last week.

Davis has eight first-year Aggies in the fold. It’s a daunting task, assimilating such a large contingency into an existing fraternity. Les continued:

“In some respects, as a coaching staff, we think they’re a little bit ahead of where we thought they’d be at this point because we have some great-character guys, talented guys who came in thinking ‘Hey, I have to learn. I’ve got a lot to learn.’

“They came in with a willingness every day to just get a little bit better, learn a little bit more,” Les continued.

OK, let’s take inventory before delving deeper …

Returning from a year ago is Moneke — the high-flying forward that SBNation says is a “no-brainer for Big West Conference Player of the Year.”

Senior transfer Moneke was the league’s top rebounder, finishing with a 9.5 average while pouring in 14.6 points a game.

Siler Schneider, now a junior, came on at the end of 2017 as a scorer (10.3 ppg) and is expected to provide heaping helpings of floor leadership this winter.

Garrison Goode, a 6-7 junior, was a defensive whiz who contributed mightily during the Aggies’ year-end run in beating UC Irvine in the Big West championship game and taking out North Carolina Central in the NCAA postseason.

Guards Arell Hennings and a healthy Rogers Printup could be breakout players for Les’ crew while 6-8 forward A.J. John (knee) is almost all the way back from injury that saw him miss last season.

Michael Onyebalu, another senior guard like Hennings, knows the system and is ready to contribute — as is sophomore backcourt mate Joe Mooney.

Having eight players who have been there and done that will be a big help in maintaining the culture of a program that hopes to win its third Big West title in three years (UCD took the regular-season title two years ago, but faltered in the conference tourney).

And while having a solid slate of new players join a successful program is a good thing, it will take some time to completely sorts things out. Nonetheless, here are the new Aggies:

Delveion Jackson (G, 6-6, Centennial High of Boise Idaho), Jonah Underwood (F, 6-8, San Jose City College), Logan Storm (F, 6-8, Norfolk High in Nebraska), Colin Russell (F, 6-10, Casper College and Portland by way of Folsom High), T.J. Shorts (G, 5-9, transfer from Saddleback College), Stefan Gonzalez (G, 6-2, St. Mary’s College import), junior Matt Neufield (C, 6-11, transfer from St. Louis) and Gio Nelson (G, 6-4, Centennial High of Corona).

“They’ve put us in a good spot here in early October to build on,” Les said of his players, pointing to the leadership of his returners, especially Moneke, Schneider and Goode.

“Those guys have not only been a visual example, but have been good vocal examples for the new guys.”

Les then pointed to that work yet to be done.

“Now we’ve got to get those eight (new players) connected and culture-established. I think the buy-in from (the 2016-17 team that went 23-13) last year was special. We’ve got to get this (new) group to buy in to what we’re teaching and how we’re teaching it, then get them to be able to execute it.”

With the crowded house that is Aggie basketball, it’s going to be a busy five weeks before UCD opens on the road at Northern Colorado (Nov. 13).

But that NCAA appearance has Aggie Pride a-poppin’ …

“Everyone that comes here, wants to do it again,” Moneke explains. “People on the outside world give us more respect. We want to do everything we did last year, we just want to do it better.”

Moneke remembers that year-end run: “Best week of my life and the best feeling I’ve ever had. I want it again. I only have one year left, so I’m doing everything I can to bring these guys together.”

Les went further, talking about what all that attention brought to the program.

“What that has left us is a legacy of success, of notoriety, of raising the bar — not only our expectations from within, but expectations from outside the program.

“Those are all good things. We want excellence to be expected of us: as a staff, as a team.”

Notes: Before the team starts with five road games, UCD fans can sneak a peek at their Aggies when D-III Bethesda visits The Pavilion for an exhibition outing Nov. 7. Davis again meets Sacramento State at Golden 1 Center on Nov. 21, but won’t be home officially until the second game of its home-and-away series with UNC (Nov. 29). …Besides Lemar, the 2017 Aggie graduates were Georgi Funtarov, Lawrence White, Darius Graham and J.T Adenrele.

— Reach Bruce Gallaudet @[email protected] or call 530-320-4456.