SENATOBIA – When the Northwest men's basketball program takes the floor on Monday, Nov. 4 against Faith Prep, it will mark the official start of the Shane Oakley era.

Oakley was labeled interim coach following the resignation of Bubba Skelton prior to last season but had the interim tag removed in February after guiding the Rangers to a 12-10 overall record, amid injuries and adversity. 

"Just the experience alone and being through the fire has helped," Oakley said, on lessons learned from last season to this year. "Being an assistant for so long, you find yourself in a support role and then when you're the one having to make those spur of the moment decisions, you have to stand with those choices and not look back. For everything that we went through, finishing 12-10 and still being on the cusp of the playoffs was good result for us despite all the difficulties. Experience is the best teacher and I've had to grow a lot as a coach in a short span of time."

Joining Oakley's staff in the offseason is former Ole Miss player and graduate assistant Nick Williams. Williams played under coach Andy Kennedy at Ole Miss during the Rebels' 2013 SEC championship and NCAA Tournament run, a squad that included the likes of Marshall Henderson, Murphy Holloway and Jarvis Summers. Following the conclusion of his playing career, Williams coached with Kermit Davis before being hired at Northwest in June.

"Nick came highly recommended to join our staff," Oakley said. "His connections will enhance our program in recruiting and on-court development. Most importantly, he is a high character guy that will be able to relate to and mentor our student-athletes."

Despite only having seven healthy players at the conclusion of the 2018-19 season, the Rangers will not return a lot of experience to this year's roster. Ernest Minton, Montez Allen and Tanner Woods are the only three familiar faces from last season and neither one started more than eight games.

Although the trio lacks starting experience, Oakley believes his returning core has grown significantly between the end of last season to the start of their sophomore campaigns.

"Ernest may not be the most skilled player on the court," Oakley said. "(But) he comes from a great high school program and he's a tough kid. He's what I call a 'glue guy'. He keeps everything together and he's going to give it his all on defense. He knows where he's supposed to be, he will get rebounds and he's someone who's going to do all the little things. Montez is a strong player that can score inside and out. He has gotten better and needs to continue getting better, but he can play multiple positions for us and he's someone we can count on to help us score."

With 15 players making up this year's roster, 12 are either transfers or incoming freshman. Tomias Brand and Jakobi Pearson are two transfers that should make an immediate impact, with Pearson having 31 games of experience under his belt after spending 2018-19 at Garden City Community College. A Mobile, Ala. native, Brand starred for Mobile-metro program Saraland before redshirting last season at West Alabama.

"He's played a high level of JUCO basketball," Oakley said, on Pearson. "He's a leader on and off the court and a terrific player with high character. He's someone that the guys gravitate to and he will be a coach for us on the floor, someone we will depend heavily on. Tomias is very athletic and can play several different positions as well."

While most of the freshman class hails from the Magnolia State, one out-of-state newcomer will bear watching as the season tips off. Boynton Beach, Fla. native R.J. Duhart came to the Rangers after playing for two high school programs in the Palm Beach area, Boyd Anderson and Atlantic Community. Duhart averaged 11.3 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game last season, earning interest from Division I programs Florida Gulf Coast, Stetson, Canisius and at the JUCO level, Palm Beach State.

"He's long and athletic," Oakley said. "He can score around the rim and brings a different dimension that we haven't had in a while in terms of length, so he should help us be able to defend the paint. He's someone else that we will be counting on."

Kavonte Tunstall (Byhalia), Milton McGee, Jr. (West Tallahatchie), Quen Kyles (Horn Lake) and Mario Fenner, Jr. (North Panola) highlight just some of the in-state freshman class. Nearly all of nine of the remaining freshmen received offers from Division II or NJCAA programs.

With the lack of sophomores returning, Oakley will need each and every newcomer on the roster to do their part to ensure success with a tough schedule.

"Overall, we added some length to our team," Oakley said. "Whether it's Kavonte or Mario or whoever, we have guys that I think are going to be good in pressing and transition. We should be a better team defensively and rebounding because we do have a little more length than we have had in the past."

Speaking of the schedule, the Rangers have several major tests to open the season before navigating a stout MACJC North Division slate. Matchups against SAU Tech, ASU Mid-South, Arkansas Baptist and Southwest Mississippi will highlight the non-division portion of the schedule, along with annual battles against Faith Prep and Tennessee Prep.

"A lot of our scheduling is done in terms of proximity," Oakley said. "ASU Mid-South and SAU Tech are teams that are similar to what we will face in the division. Our division slate is brutal each and every night. No matter who we play, we cannot take a night off. If we don't play our best, any one of those teams in the division can beat us. With a young group, it's going to be challenging. That's when we will find out what we are truly made of."

Northwest opens the season at 6 p.m. against Faith Prep on Monday at Howard Coliseum. The Rangers will also hit the road on Friday, Nov. 8 for a 6 p.m. tip at SAU Tech.