Jesuit Dallas basketball begins its season on Friday as the Rangers will travel to North Crowley for the 2018 Cowtown Classic. Set to battle state-ranked DeSoto at 7 p.m., the Rangers will take to the hardwood for the first time since last year's University Interscholastic League (UIL) Region 2-6A final, bringing a mix of hardened veterans and fresh faces to battle a difficult new district.
 
District Co-MVP Abmas Leads Corps of Returners: Senior Max Abmas returns to the Rangers after earning Co-Offensive Most Valuable Player honors last year. The ral Roberts University verbal commit led all scorers last season with 565 points, averaging 16.1 per game while helping the Rangers to a 30-6 record. Abmas hit a team-leading 106 three-pointers last year, closing out the season shooting 43.4 percent from behind the arc. In addition, Abmas fought his way to 110 free throw attempts, making 93 to finish the year with an 84.5 percent clip from the charity stripe. The junior recorded 50 steals, 69 assists and seven blocks to complete his eyebrow-raising stat line and enters his senior season with 794 career points.
 
Returning Rangers Primed for Senior Seasons: The 2018-19 Ranger basketball team is led by a corps of seven seniors, including five members of last year's history-making team. Senior Julius Marble only played 14 games before being sidelined due to injury but made an enormous impact during his truncated junior season with 174 points, 82 boards and seven blocks. In his 14 games played, Marble recorded two double doubles, including an 11-point, 10-rebound outing in his varsity debut against Harker Heights (Nov. 10). Marble added 10 double-digit scoring outings, including a career-best 22-point performance against Holy Cross (Dec. 9).
 
Seniors Anthony Hollerich, John Phillips and Connor Wilson return after serving critical roles on last year's team. Hollerich closed the season shooting 13-of-28 from three-point range, averaging 4.1 points per game over 23 games played. Phillips added 35 points, 19 boards, five blocks and six assists over 17 games, converting 40.6 percent of his attempts from the floor. Wilson tacked on 37 points, a 41.7 percent clip from three-point range and a 66.7 percent conversion rate from the free-throw line to accompany 15 assists over 21 contests, including a start against W.T. White (Jan .9).
 
Newcomers Bring Depth, Talent to Roster: Five newcomers will accompany the five returners as a corps of two juniors, a senior and sophomore will provide the Rangers with a fortified frontcourt presence and depth at the guard positions. Juniors Darryl Brown and Eli Steger, measured at 6'7'' and 6'4'' respectively, will join 6'7'' center Mac McCormack in the frontcourt to provide head coach Chris Hill a group of forwards averaging well over 6'5''.
 
Senior Joey Richard joins the team as a four-year member of the basketball program, earning his spot on the varsity team after earning a reputation as a sharpshooter on the junior varsity gold team last year. Sophomore Gavin Perryman joins the fray after leading the freshman gold team to an unblemished, 26-0 record in 2018.
 
Jesuit Eager to Face Another Difficult Schedule: The Rangers will face five state-ranked teams in the preseason before entering a newly realigned UIL District 9-6A which is highlighted by the reigning state champion Allen Eagles. Jesuit opens the year on Friday against a DeSoto squad ranked 17th in the preseason Texas Association of Basketball Coaches (TABC) poll before welcoming Mesquite to Walsh Gym for the traditional early-season meeting between the two squads.
 
Jesuit will battle Lincoln (No. 4-4A) on Nov. 19, South Grand Prairie (No. 7-6A) on Dec. 7, Mansfield Timberview (No. 7-5A) on Dec. 11 and Sulphur Springs (No. 15-5A) on Dec. 14 before opening the district slate against Prosper on Dec. 21 at Walsh Gym. Jesuit and No. 21-6A Allen will meet on Jan. 2 in Allen, Texas before the two teams clash in Walsh Gym on Friday, January 25.
 
JesuitRangers.org Announces Broadcast Team: For the fourth consecutive year, JesuitRangers.org is proud to bring live video broadcasts of Jesuit Dallas Basketball to its fans, families and alumni. This year, Jack Lynch '19 returns to the air as the play-by-play announcer after calling the action last year as a color commentator. Nash Crawford '20 will make his debut on JesuitRangers.org as the team's color commentator. The broadcast debut for the team of Lynch and Crawford will take place on Tuesday, Nov. 13 against Mesquite.
 
Up Next: The Rangers will open the home schedule on Tuesday, November 13 against Mesquite before traveling to Frisco for the Lone Star Classic on Nov. 19 and 20. Jesuit will battle Lincoln and Denton on Nov. 19 at 1:30 p.m. and 6 p.m., respectively before closing the tournament the following day with a 9 a.m. tipoff against Frisco Liberty and a 3 p.m. bout against OKC Storm.