U.C. Davis Aggies Jason Cox slam dunks as number 42 Jamal Livingston of Cal St. Bakersfield looks on during Saturday night's game. The Aggies lost. Photo by Chris de Asis / Aggie

And if ever there were a defining play in Aggie lore, a play that one could watch over and over again and never cease to get goose bumps about, it would be the game-deciding three-pointer that was hit by post Jason Cox against Kentucky Wesleyan College in the championship game.

Cox, a junior post from Chula Vista, Calif., took a break from the Aggies' strenuous California Collegiate Athletic Association schedule to talk to the Aggie Braintrust about team camaraderie, last year's experiences and his thoughts on the NBA situation.

California Aggie: Thinking back to last year, in big games you hit some big shots. Do you like to have the ball in your hands in crucial situations?

Jason Cox: I definitely like to have the ball in my hands, but the Bakersfield game and the championship games were mix-ups. I'd say a lot of the big shots I've hit here in my career have been unintentional or just lucky. The one against Bakersfield last year was a one-point game and I got the ball in the corner with two or three minutes left and I shot a shot that hit the backboard and went in - I walked away like I'd meant to do it, but it was a horrible shot that missed the rim by two feet. I've just been real lucky here so far.

CA: Did you get talked to by any other schools after last year's performance?

JC: Last year's performance was nice and it was great for a real small sector of the country, but in the whole scheme of things we were just a precursor to a Sweet Sixteen game for Division I. Where we are - at Division II, Division III, NAIA - is such a small scale compared to the Division I level and the professional level that no one really batted an eye. It was the best game of my life and no one really cared.

CA: There was a lot of talk after the game that you might have been considering following (former UCD head coach) Bob Williams to UC Santa Barbara. Was that the case?

JC: Bob Williams was one of the best coaches I've ever had, probably the best coach I've ever had in my life so far. Before the season started two years ago, when people thought he might leave eventually, me and him sat down and had a couple conversations about whether or not I would follow him. When he left I wrote the NCAA a letter and found out I'd have to sit out a year of eligibility by transferring from Division II to Division I. That made the decision real easy for me.

CA: They could probably use you in Santa Barbara right now.

JC: They've had a couple tough games, we went and watched them. He watched two of our games and then we watched him against Santa Clara. They play well and they're real close but in the last two minutes they don't know how to win - they don't have that killer instinct.

CA: I talked to a former player and he said that he could see Bob Williams in the Pacific-10 in a few years.

JC: I think Coach Williams is eyeing Stanford if (head coach Mike) Montgomery ever goes to the pros or decides to go somewhere else I think that's where he wants to go. He told me he doesn't want to go to a bad school - a school that doesn't have athletics and academics intertwined and he wants to go to a great location and stay in the California area. He has a daughter and he wants to stay close to her, so I think Stanford is the perfect fit for him and that's where he wants to be.

CA: Talk about the difference between Fogel and Williams.

JC: Fogel learned a lot from Williams, and I think Williams actually learned a lot from Fogel as well. They complemented each other perfectly. There hasn't been a drop-off, there hasn't been a letdown since Fogel's stepped up and took over the program. When they were in the selection process, our entire team knew that he wouldn't let us down and we were all behind him 100 percent because of his talent and how good of a coach he is.

CA: Dante Ross has said that you have to be healthy for the team to be as successful as last season and he also said that you'll be an NBA small forward one day. Comment on that.

JC: Me and Dante have been giving each other a hard time over the last few years. I try to give him all the compliments in the world and he tries to dish it right back at me, and that's his latest thing - saying that I'm going to the NBA. I'm just going to play basketball here in college and then see what happens afterward. I'm not going to go play professional basketball. At the same time, everyone sees how great Dante is as a player, and to receive those types of compliments from him is really flattering.

CA: You've done better than a lot of people expected, are you happy with 10-3 at this point in the season?

JC: I didn't expect us to play as well as we have, I didn't expect our young players to step up and play as many minutes as they've had and they've just blown my mind with how much maturity they have.

CA: How much of this start has had to do with team camaraderie, how close the guys are?

JC: We don't have any animosity and everyone gets along. When it comes down to it, it comes down to talent and how hard you practice. We have trust in each other.

CA: Is Darmstadt the biggest nut on the team?

JC: Darmstadt is the biggest nut, but we've got a couple people that are tied right behind him. J.C. is a definite character.

CA: Back to big games, you had a dunk against Stanford - was that something you were trying to do, get that one big play?

JC: Not really. A dunk is kind of a sidebar to playing a great team like that - that's something I'm going to remember as a defining moment of that game, but I'd definitely turn it back in if we could have played a little bit closer.

CA: Do you ever consciously try to dunk to liven up a crowd that isn't as into the game as you'd like?

JC: There are certain big plays in basketball that will turn the tide of a crowd, taking a charge, making a big block or a dunk or a timely three that will ignite the crowd. If we're stagnant on offense, we'll call a play specifically to try to get a dunk and try to fire ourselves and the crowd up and turn the tide of the game.

CA: Do you guys ever feel the crowds at the Rec Hall should be bigger based on the success you've had?

JC: Success is great, but we can't expect people to come out and watch us just because of what we did last year. The crowds we get at home are just the greatest people in the world and until we travel on the road and see the dismal turnout they get - we traveled to Cal Poly-Pomona and they're tied with us for first and they draw 150 people in the stands. When Cal Poly comes here, if they're still pretty good, this place will be on fire. There's no way I could ever be disappointed by the crowds we get here at home.

CA: Could crowds here ever be like Break the Record Night every night?

JC: No way. I like that Break the Record Night is special, something that we can circle on our calendar and say, 'Mom, dad, come to this one, it'll really be an exciting game.' I don't think we could ever get 8,000 per game.

CA: Has a little more of the role that Justis Durkee played last year fallen to you?

JC: Sort of, but I could never hope to fill the void that Justis left. I'm picking up a little of the slack and all the other post guys pick up a little of the slack and we all try to match what he gave us last year. I can't hope to play like he did.

CA: Have guys started to fill some of those roles that were vacated by the six seniors?

JC: Scotty's had a couple of great games, Dante, as we all know, is going to get his points and have great games each night. Tyler Boyd stepped up as a very confident backup point guard. Our team is starting to find a little identity.

CA: Does the fact that you guys play solid fundamental basketball help you beat a lot of bigger teams?

JC: Lack of size only affects us down low and in the blocks and the way we counteract that always is to play more cohesively as a team and bring doubleteams to try and get the ball out of big guys' hands. On the perimeter it doesn't really make a difference.

CA: Off the court, how do you unwind?

JC: Watch our San Francisco 49ers lose and play video games.

CA: What's your favorite video game?

JC: I love Tetris on the old-school Nintendo.

CA: What's the highest level you ever got to?

JC: I got to 19. I was so good at that game back in my heyday. I need to get it up here so bad.

CA: Do you think the NBA lockout is going to cost the game a lot of fans?

JC: Undoubtedly. It took baseball four or five years and even then it took a season like the one we had last year. I wish they wouldn't have played at all this year - what are they going to have, a 40-game season? I don't think anyone's really going to be fired up to watch the NBA season.

CA: I've always preferred to watch the NCAA.

JC: So have I. It's more pure basketball - not a 24-second clock or illegal defenses. It's just turned into a showman's type game. They've skewed the rules of the game so much.

CA: How would you fix it? How would you make the NBA better?

JC: You'd have to let every team have a chance to win. Like the way the NFL has their profit-sharing, big cities get half the money they bring in and then the other half goes to a big pot that gets split up amongst all the teams. That way small-cap teams have a chance to upset other teams. In the NBA, you know that when Chicago goes to play the Sacramento Kings, people are going to come watch the Chicago Bulls win.

Cox and the Aggies travel down south on Friday, as they take on Cal State San Bernardino and then face UC Riverside on Saturday night. Both games are at 8.