SENATOBIA – Fresh off a 16-10 season that yielded a trip to the NJCAA Region 23 Tournament, Northwest coaches Shane Oakley and Nick Williams have finalized their roster for the upcoming 2020-21 campaign.

Aside from a handful of returning sophomores, the Rangers will welcome nine newcomers to the roster, including a pair of Division I transfers.

Scroll down for more information on each student-athlete, including commentary from Oakley and Williams.
 
 

NAME	POS	HOMETOWN	PREVIOUS SCHOOL
Cori Bell	G	Holly Springs, Miss.	Holly Springs HS
Carlos Curry	F	Albany, Ga.	Ole Miss
DeAntoni Gordon	F	Mobile, Ala.	Wichita State
Tony Hannah, Jr.	F	Saltillo, Miss.	Saltillo HS
Trey Jackson	G/F	Starkville, Miss.	Starkville HS
Tyler Lang	F	Mobile, Ala.	LeFlore HS
Forte Prater	G	Starkville, Miss.	Starkville HS
Xavier Virges	G	Houston, Miss.	Houston HS
Jaylon Sanders	G	Southaven, Miss.	Collierville HS

Cori Bell, G (6-1)
Holly Springs, Miss. (Holly Springs HS)
Helped Holly Springs to a 25-8 overall record, a Region 2-3A championship and the semifinals of the MHSAA Class 3A playoffs as a senior...was a key contributor on teams that reached the Class 3A Final Four for four consecutive seasons, finishing runner-up in both 2018-19 and 2017-18...listed as a Preseason Player to Watch by Mississippi Gridiron...was also listed as one of Magnolia Hoops Top Players of 2019-20 and one of the top 25 players in the state by MS Hoop Report...began his senior campaign by being selected to the Mississippi High School Activities Association/Mississippi Association of Coaches' Elite 100 Basketball Showcase.

Coaches' Commentary: "Cori is a combo guard that comes from a really good high school program that has won a lot of games over the last four years. He can do a little bit of everything and should add some depth to our backcourt." ---Shane Oakley


Carlos Curry, F (6-11, 240)
Albany, Ga. (Ole Miss/Dougherty Comprehensive High School)
Appeared in 17 games for Ole Miss after redshirting his freshman season in 2018-19...saw limited action with the Rebels last season, but was credited with 12 rebounds (3 offensive, 9 defensive), three steals, two blocks, and two assists...averaged 13.9 points, 8.5 rebounds and 3.2 blocks per game during his senior varsity season at Dougherty Comprehensive High School...recognized by Sandy's Spiel as one of the top PF/C in Georgia...selected to the GHSA Region 1-3A second team and earned All-State honorable mention by Sandy's Spiel…was chosen All-Area first team and defensive player of the year…received recruiting interest from Middle Tennessee, Florida State, Clemson, Buffalo, and Oklahoma, among others.

Coaches' Commentary: "Carlos is a very long, athletic forward and center that can score in a variety of ways. He has a nice stroke from the outside and an above average rebounder. Carlos will be our anchor defensively." ---Nick Williams


DeAntoni Gordon, F (6-7, 210)
Mobile, Ala. (Wichita State/LeFlore HS)
Appeared in 20 games last season for Wichita State...averaged 0.8 points and 1.1 rebounds per game…totaled 16 points, going 6-of-23 from the floor…credited with 22 rebounds (8 offensive, 14 defensive), two steals, two blocks and two assists...played at LeFlore High School, where he helped the Rattlers to a 23-9 overall record, an Area 1-5A championship and the second round of the AHSAA Class 5A playoffs as a senior...averaged 21 points, 9.5 rebounds and totaled 51 blocks during his senior campaign…selected to the USA Today All-USA Alabama first team, the Alabama Sports Writers Association (ASWA) 5A first team and Team Alabama for the Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Game…chosen the Mobile County 5A-6A Player of the Year, AL.com's Coastal Player of the Year and was a finalist for ASWA 5A Player of the Year…following his junior season, was named to the AL.com Coastal Alabama All-Region first team, the ASWA 6A All-State second team and the Alabama High School Athletic Directors & Coaches Association All-Star team for the South squad…also helped lead his team to the 2018 Area 1-6A championship…received recruiting interest from South Alabama, UAB, and New Mexico State, among others.

Coaches' Commentary: "DeAntoni is an elite athlete. He is really skilled with a big time motor and he is a high IQ player that always makes the right play." ---Nick Williams


T.J. Hannah, F (6-6, 200)
Saltillo, Miss. (Saltillo HS)
Helped Saltillo to a 23-6 record and the first round of the MHSAA Class 5A playoffs as a senior…scored over 1,500 points during his varsity career…began his final season as a Mississippi Gridiron Preseason Player to Watch and ended it with a nod on the inaugural Mississippi Gridiron All-State team as an honorable mention choice…selected as one of Magnolia Hoops Top Players of 2019-20 and one of the top 35 players in the state by MS Hoop Report.

Coaches' Commentary: "T.J. is long and athletic. He has really improved his offensive skill set from his junior to his senior season. T.J. will help us in many ways and his athleticism should serve him well." ---Shane Oakley


Trey Jackson, G/F (6-1, 190)
Starkville, Miss. (Starkville HS)
Helped Starkville to a Region 3-6A championship and the MHSAA Class 6A state championship as a senior…scored 16 points and hauled in five rebounds in the championship game…was also a key contributor on Starkville's 2019 state championship squad that went 26-1…selected as Starkville's representative as the CSpire Scholar Student-Athlete in both championship contests…began his senior season as a Mississippi Gridiron Preseason Player to Watch and ended it with recognition as a Magnolia Hoops Top Player of 2019-20 and an honorable mention selection on the inaugural Mississippi Gridiron All-State team…chosen to the Starkville Daily News All-Area Best of the Rest team…was one of two Mississippians selected to participate in the 2019 NCAA Basketball Academy.

Coaches' Commentary: "Trey is what I call a glue guy. He will do whatever it takes to win, whether that means making shots or guarding the other team's best player." ---Shane Oakley


Tyler Lang, F (6-6, 205)
Mobile, Ala. (LeFlore HS)
Helped LeFlore to a 21-10 record, an Area 1-5A championship, a Southwest Regional title and the Alabama High School Activities Association Class 5A Final Four as a senior…averaged 19 points and 9.5 rebounds per game in an injury-shortened season…during his junior campaign, averaged 11 points and 7.5 rebounds per game…selected to the AL.com Coastal Alabama All-Region third team and was a pick of the Alabama High School Athletic Directors and Coaches Association for the South Alabama All-Star team following his junior season…ranked the 10th best player in Alabama by Future150.com and 14th best by HoopSeen…also chosen to the Ballin' Down South 2019 Summer Watch List…received recruiting interest from Cal State-Northridge and South Alabama.

Coaches' Commentary: "Tyler is a very skilled, rangy forward that is capable of scoring from anywhere on the floor. His length allows him to be really effective guarding multiple positions defensively, while being an offensive mismatch." ---Nick Williams


Forte Prater, G (6-0)
Starkville, Miss. (Starkville HS)
Helped Starkville to a Region 3-6A championship and the MHSAA Class 6A state championship as a senior…scored 18 points with four rebounds, four assists and two steals in the championship game on his way to CSpire Player of the Game recognition...was also a key contributor on Starkville's 2019 state championship squad that went 26-1...began his senior season as a Mississippi Gridiron Preseason Player to Watch and ended it with a mention as a Magnolia Hoops Top Player of 2019-20…selected as the Starkville Daily News All-Area Player of the Year and as a first team choice on the inaugural Mississippi Gridiron All-State team.

Coaches' Commentary: "Forte is a very talented point guard. He is very unselfish and always looking to find the open guy. As good as he is offensively, I believe he can be an even better on-the-ball defender." ---Shane Oakley


Xavier Virges, G (6-1)
Houston, Miss. (Houston HS)
Helped Houston to a 22-11 record and the semifinals of the MHSAA Class 3A playoffs as a senior…averaged 16.6 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.4 steals per game during his senior campaign…averaged 15 points, 6.7 rebounds and 2.2 steals per game during his junior year…scored 1,100 points during his three-year career at Houston…selected to the inaugural Mississippi Gridiron All-State honorable mention team and listed as a Top Player of 2019-20 by Magnolia Hoops following his final season...recognized as the 2019 Region 4-3A Defensive Player of the Year.

Coaches' Commentary: "Xavier is a very athletic guard that shoots the ball well from three-point range. He also has the ability to take you off the bounce and finish at the rim." ---Shane Oakley


Jaylon Sanders, G (6-5, 165)
Southaven, Miss. (Collierville HS)
Helped Collierville to a 20-12 record and the Tennessee Secondary Schools Athletic Association (TSSAA) regional semifinals as a senior, Collierville's deepest run since 1987…topped the 1,000 point mark during his final varsity season...selected to the District 15-AAA All-District and All-Tournment teams, the Region 8-AAA All-Tournament team, Tennessee Prep Hoops Region 8-AAA All-Region team and the Daily Memphian All-Metro team following his senior campaign…also chosen to the Hendricks County (Ind.) Hoopfest All Tournament Team and as a Chick-fil-A Scholar Athlete of the Week during the season…recognized as MHSAA All-Region 2-6A following his junior season at Southaven and was selected as a Mississippi Gridiron Preseason Player to Watch for 2019-20…received recruiting interest from Arkansas State, Murray State, College of Charleston, IUPUI, VMI, Liberty, Loyola-Chicago, UALR, Pittsburg State and CBU.

Coaches' Commentary: "Jaylon is an extremely athletic guard that can score the ball in a variety of ways. He is a guy that should be able to play multiple positions on offense and be really good in the press." ---Shane Oakley


For more on the Northwest men's basketball program, follow the team on Twitter (@NWCC_MBK/@NWCC_Rangers) and online at nwccrangers.com. The full 2020-21 season schedule will be finalized at a later date.