UC Davis men pick up transfer from Bears

Enterprise staff

The UC Davis men’s basketball program has added Cal transfer, Marsalis Roberson to its 2023-24 team, it was announced by UCD head coach Jim Les.

The 6-foot-6 guard Roberson makes his way to Davis after spending two seasons as a California Golden Bear.

“We are very excited to welcome Marsalis to the UC Davis Basketball family,” Les said. “He is someone that we are quite familiar with having recruited him out of Bishop O’Dowd High School in 2020. As both a student-athlete and as a young man of high character, he will fit in perfectly with our returning group of Aggies.”

Roberson appeared in 31 of Cal’s 32 games this past season and averaged 12.7 minutes off the bench for the Golden Bears.

He recorded a career-high 11 points against Washington State on Jan. 11, and also holds career game highs of three steals and eight rebounds during his time at Cal.

“Marsalis has great size for a perimeter player and he is a terrific athlete that will thrive in our up-tempo style of play,” Les said. “We also believe he has the chance to be an excellent defender that can guard multiple positions on the floor.

“We cannot wait to get him here to campus.”

Originally from Oakland, Roberson played high school ball at Bishop O’Dowd and was one of the most highly recruited prospects of his class.

At the time of his commitment to Cal, he was ranked as the No. 98 prospect in the country, according to 247Sports.

Roberson was tabbed as a Max Preps 1st Team All-State and 2nd Team AllState Open Division member during his junior season at O’Dowd while also being recognized as the 2020 Bay Area Preps’ HQ Player of the Year that season after leading his team in points (16.5) and rebounds (6.5).

Roberson and the rest of the Aggies will return to the hardwood in November as UCD will again contend for the Big West Conference title.