Last year as the freshman basketball team, this group of boys went 15-2, finishing out the season very well. This year, now as the JV team, the boys have a more challenging path towards finishing the season with the same amount of success. At this higher level, the team knows that they will have to work hard and try their best in every game to achieve the highest of results.

This year, the JV team will be led by two new coaches: head coach Jordan George and assistant Chad Bauchan, both former Rangerballers from the varsity team that went 23-1 in 2014-15.

“I’m really looking forward to playing under the new JV coaches. I think that with Coach George’s and Bauchan’s experiences in playing for the Rangerball program will help us to exceed all expectations,” sophomore Joe Murdock said.

The boys are starting off their season playing Forest Hills Eastern on Thursday the 12th and then East Kentwood on Thursday the 19th. These two opponents are typically tough to play against every time the Rangers face them. These two games will be great to start off the season and to get the boys playing on their toes. Each player is excited about this season and has high hopes of doing well.

“Some big goals for us this season is to go 20-0 and win our conference,” sophomore Rhosias Arius said. “For a successful season, we need to play every game like it will be our last and really grind this season to be what we are capable of being.”

For this year to be successful, and for the team to be united, they will need to rally around their three captains: sophomores Benny Scholler, Jacob Bonnett, and Pierson VanGorp. Ben and Jacob do exceptionally well on defense and help to disrupt the opposing team’s offense. Pierson is very good on the offensive side, being one of the best scorers on the team. Each of these players work very hard and will serve well as leaders for the team.

“We also have a couple of bigs that will be fun to watch this year in [sophomores] Conner Milton and Rhosias Arius. Conner and Rhosias will be counted on to out-rebound the other team each game,” head coach Jordan George said. “[Sophomore] Louis Craffey will be another fun player to watch, who is a great shooter and scorer.”

This group of boys has played together for some time now, giving them a great advantage. They all know one another and can trust each other on the court, which will make their games run smoothly from the beginning. They have all been practicing hard during the offseason to prepare for their JV year together.

“We have really high expectations this season. We know that the competition level will be higher than their freshman year, so we know that we must work really hard each day to get better,” George said. “We expect to outwork our opponents each game on the defensive end, and we know that that’s how we are going to win games this year. These guys play with a lot of confidence and have a really great toughness about them, so we coaches are challenging them each day to reach their best potential.”