A thick pool of sweat gathers above the guard’s left eye, his long brown hair falling down towards his face. With the Rangers down by two, the exhausted player runs down the left side of the court. Over and over, the leather basketball hits the floor and rises back to his hand. As he crosses half-court, Jesuit fans begin shouting “5…4…3…2…1!” With the clock now reading zero, the ball flies through the air towards the bright white net. “Swish!” Cheers erupt in the stands as the ball falls through the net and the Rangers win by one!
With the football season coming to a close, excitement is gathering among Ranger fans, as the basketball season is about to kick off. Students are buzzing with discussion around campus as they talk about this year’s team and the excitement that will come with the season. Although the Rangers fell short in the playoffs last season, a new spark of excitement revolves around the 2016-2017 roster.
This year’s varsity team consists of five seniors: Mitch Prendergast, Andrew Olinger, Alan Garcia, Jeff Grimes, and Jacob Palisch. As for the other men, juniors Reid Hatzmann, Marcus Hill, Michael Jankovich, and Joey Preboy make up a large portion of the roster. There is only one sophomore on this season’s varsity team and that is Max Abmas. Amongst all the basketball coaches, head coach Chris Hill and assistant head coach Jonathan Alexander will be returning once again in hopes of guiding these young men to a 6A basketball state championship.
In addition to the varsity team, the Rangers have two junior varsity teams and two freshmen level teams. The coaches for all levels are very excited to kick off the season and truly believe that this year will be another great one for Ranger basketball. When asked about his thoughts on the upcoming season, Dr. Todd Gruninger ’98, the freshman gold team head coach, said, “I am very excited about the upcoming season. I love the new group of freshmen that have arrived to the school and I feel the varsity talent will take us very far.” Not only are the coaches ready, but also the players themselves are very excited for the season. Junior Christopher Horton believes that “the season will be an exciting one,” and he “believes the fans will be very pleased and proud with the team.”
Jesuit varsity has just kicked off its season with a home win against Mesquite. To all Jesuit fans, get excited for another exciting and fun filled season of Ranger basketball!
