The Roland Rangers went 21-6 last season, but did not get past the Class 3A Area Tournament consolation semifinals.
The good news for veteran Roland boys coach Eddie Lewis is he has the majority of the players back from that squad. Even better news for Lewis, who enters his 42nd season as Runnin’ Rangers coach, is that any or all of those players can find themselves in the starting line-up on any given night.
The key senior back this season is six-foot senior forward Raesean Perryman (2.6 points and 1.7 rebounds per game a season ago).
The Runnin’ Rangers will be very junior-ladened this season thanks to six-foot junior forward Mason Kemp (5.4 points, four rebounds per game in last year), six-foot junior forward Cason Perryman (2.7, 2.6), 5-9 junior guard Buck Triplett (5.8, two) and 5-10 junior guard Paul Johnson (5.2, 2.4).
Key sophomores back for Roland include sixfoot guard Kade Shook (six points and 2.6 rebounds per game in the 2023-24 campaign), 5-8 guard Kayden Hartt, 6-3 forward Asa Ulrich and 5-9 guard Camren Hartt.
Two freshmen who Lewis has high hopes on are 5-8 guard Damonte Owens and 6-3 forward Landon Fowler.
“We would like to be competitive in our (NOAA) conference and make a deep run in the playoffs,” Lewis said.
The Runnin’ Rang-ers will be very experienced, but Lewis said rebounding could be a weakness if players don’t box out the opposition due to a lack of height for his players.
The Runnin’ Rangers will begin the new season at 7:30 p.m. next Tuesday at Sequoyah-Tahlequah.
