Coming off a fifth consecutive winning season in head coach Bubba Skelton's second stint at Northwest, the Rangers are poised for a return trip to the postseason in 2017-18 with a nice mixture of sophomores and freshmen.
     
Northwest picked up a pair of transfers from within the MACJC (Co-Lin/SMCC) and one from the SEC ranks and added big-time prospects from Memphis, Arkansas and the nearby Mississippi Delta region.
     
Skelton and the Rangers could go 10-11 players deep this season, with several talented freshmen fighting to come in and start right away. 
     
"We have three true-freshmen that are challenging to start, but we have some other guys with experience in our program and transfers who are also fighting for a spot," Skelton said. "We're going to be a lot more open to switching our lineups around early in the year this year."
     
The Rangers finished 14-9 overall and 7-5 in north division play a year ago, with three of their losses coming by four points or less. Northwest clinched a berth in the MACJC Tournament for the fifth time in six seasons and barely missed out on a return trip to the NJCAA Region 23 Tournament.
     
Northwest is without its top three scorers from a year ago in Dante Sterling (Alcorn State), Dakota Dailey and Keelin Jackson (Arkansas-Monticello) but return sixth man Therrell Gosier II (10.6 ppg/5.3 rpg), Alex Shepard (5.4 ppg/2.9 rpg) and Cameron Walker (4.0 ppg/3.8 rpg) who will serve as the Rangers' tri-captains.
     
"Even though we return just three players from last year's roster that actually saw action in games, we also have three other guys who redshirted last year and have been around the program. I feel like we have a good mixture."
     
Gosier scored in double figures in 11 games last season, including a pair of 20-point nights, and added a team-best 26 blocks. He was invited to Mullen's JC Top 100 Camp in Wichita, Kan., this summer, a premier invitation-only showcase of some of the nations' top junior college basketball prospects.
     
Shepard saw action in all 23 contests as a redshirt freshman off the bench, after transferring over from Ole Miss, and provided an instant spark with his unselfish play. Walker enters his third year with the program and shot at a 49 percent clip from the floor, second-best on the team, and 40 percent from beyond the arc. Look for both Shepard and Walker to play bigger roles this season.
     
Among other returners for Northwest are redshirt freshman guards Clinton Moses (MRA), Justin Flakes (DeSoto Central) and Alec Rayburn (Magnolia Heights).
     
"We've been fortunate to get some players from [super] high school programs with good coaches. It always helps to get guys who play in a similar system and go head-to-head with some of the top talent in the country every week."
     
Mississippi State sophomore transfer Miles Washington (6-8/205) is one of eight newcomers to the program, providing valuable SEC experience. Washington averaged a double-double his senior year at New Albany and was named 2-4A Region MVP and selected to participate in the 2016 NEMBCA All-Star Game.
     
Copiah-Lincoln transfer Trae Thompson, who averaged 7.4 points in 23 games, two-time all-state guard Tremont Robinson (Maumelle, Ark.), two-time MAIS AA Player of the Year Mike Robinson (Greenville Christian), versatile forward Radarius "Pig" Washington (Memphis East) and prolific scorer Jitaurious Gordon (Horn Lake) should all be solid additions to the program as well.
     
Tremont was named the second-best guard in central Arkansas by ARHoops.com last November and 10th in the Arkansas Basketball Rankings and played in the Arkansas All-Star Game last June. Mike averaged 20.2 points, 8.4 rebounds, 2.1 blocks and 1.8 steals per game during his senior campaign, helping the Saints to the 2016-17 MAIS Class AA State Championship.
     
Washington played for head coach Penny Hardaway, a former NBA first-round draft choice and four-time all-star, at Memphis East and was a major contributor in helping the Mustangs to a combined 67-5 record his junior-season seasons and back-to-back Tennessee 3A state titles.

Gordon averaged a team-best 26.2 points per game for Horn Lake last year, scoring in double figures in all 29 games, including 48 against Olive Branch and 49 against Southaven. The two-time All-Region 1-6A selection finished with over 1,000 points for his career.
     
Offensively, Northwest likes to get up and down the floor and could speed things up even more this season. The Rangers averaged 86.8 points per game last year, with four scorers in double figures. Northwest was second in the country last season in free throws made (21.7) and attempted per game (32.8).
     
Defensively, the Rangers put a lot of focus on pressuring the ball and turning defense into offense and easy baskets. The biggest challenge is to get 10-11 guys on the same page and playing together.
     
Northwest played its first eight games at Howard Coliseum last year but the schedule is much more balanced in 2017-18. In addition to an always-challenging MACJC slate, the schedule has remained competitive in non-conference play, facing top-tier teams like Missouri State-West Plains, Arkansas Baptist, Lawson State and ASU-Mid South.
     
Northwest will open the season on Thursday, Nov. 2 against Faith Prep Academy, while the division schedule begins Dec. 4 vs East Mississippi.