SAN ANGELO, Texas – The Angelo State University men's basketball team returns to action for the 2019-20 season on November 4 at home in an exhibition game against the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma.

Last season, the Rams finished 21-9 overall and 13-5 in conference. ASU went to the second round of the Lone Star Conference tournament, where it fell 88-79 to Texas A&M – Commerce. The Rams went on to the NCAA DII South Central Regional tournament and fell to St. Edward's University by one point, 82-81.

Angelo State returns nine players from last season including Ronald Bell, Marcel Pettway, Collin Turner, and Paul Williams who all played significant minutes throughout the season.

Bell was a Second Team All-Lone Star Conference performer after finishing with 13.64 points per game average in 723 minutes played. He grabbed 228 rebounds, 142 of them defensive, with an 8.14 rebound per game average. He also earned the Lone Star Conference Offensive Player of the Week Award on February 4, 2019.

Turner, a native of Poolsville, Maryland, saw action in 27 games and averaged 7.33 points per game. He grabbed 25 steals and 76 rebounds. He finished second on the team for assists with 63.

Williams saw action in all 30 games last season for the Rams. He scored 218 points with a 7.27 points per game average. He finished fourth on the team for assists with 42.

Pettway rounds out the group after finishing fourth on the team for rebounds with a 4.18 average. He played in 28 games for the Rams and averaged 4.39 points per game.

Other returners from last year's team include Jordan Caldwell, Michael Kirkland, Trevor Berry, Camron Reedus, and Kendrick Washington.

The Angelo State Rams also welcome in the addition of eight new players in Andres Ibarguen, Jeremy Hayes, R.J. Gladney, Salisu Yahaya, Burone Edwards, B.J. Anderson, Andre Nunley, and Travis Reeh.

Andres Ibarguen arrives in San Angelo, Texas after a yearlong stint at the University of Texas at Arlington where he made 20 starts and averaged nearly seven points and seven rebounds. Prior to UTA, he played for Trinity Valley Community College for two years, averaging a double-double of 11 points and 11 rebounds in his sophomore year. The big fella was named first team All-Conference in his second season. Andres was born and raised in Santa Marta, Colombia where he grew up playing baseball, soccer, and volleyball in addition to basketball.
 
"Andres is no stranger to our program, as we have known him since his junior college days at Trinity Valley Community College in Athens, Texas, where he played for an outstanding coach in Guy Furr.  Add to that, the fact that his best friend and fellow Columbian, Yildon Mendoza, was on our squad last season.  Andres played last season at UT Arlington for good friends of ours in Chris Ogden and Greg Young, where he started 20 games and was a big contributor to a team who was one game away from the NCAA tournament.  ASU fans will love how hard he plays, how physical he is inside, and his hard-working mentality that he will bring every night.  We are expecting double-doubles from him every night out," said head coach Cinco Boone.

Jeremy Hayes comes to ASU from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. The scoring guard is a native of Roseland, Louisiana. He made stops at Tallahassee Community College and Howard College prior to returning to his home state. Jeremy holds collegiate averages of 10 points per game over his first three years while shooting 37 percent from beyond the three point arc. As a sophomore, he was selected to the First Team All-Western Junior College Athletic Conference.
 
"We think Jeremy is such a talented guard who has been coached by some great coaches and good friends like Mark White at Tallahassee CC, Scott Raines at Howard JC right up the road, and Bob Marlin at UL-Lafayette.   We first really evaluated Jeremy when he was at Howard JC and he was a First Team All-Conference player in the tough WACJC Junior College Conference.  We also had a familiarity with Tallahassee's program, as we have had Kiair Crouch and currently, Ronald Bell, from that program.  Jeremy will contribute to our team immediately and will be a guy who fills up the stat sheet and shoots good percentages.  He will also bring an energy and excitement with his swagger and competitive edge. Coach Lewis did a good job with the recruitment of Jeremy," added Boone.
 
Randy "R.J." Gladney hails from DeRidder, Louisiana, and comes to ASU from the University of Louisiana Lafayette. As a freshman at Lafayette, he appeared in 13 games and had career highs of four points and four rebounds against Appalachian State. At DeRidder high school in Louisiana, he was a three-time All-District 3-4A selection and as a senior was ranked as the number six overall prospect in the state of Louisiana by 247Sports.com. That same year he was ranked as the 77^th best power forward in the nation and averaged 16.3 points, 13.0 rebounds, 3.2 blocks, 2.6 steals along with a share of the District 3-4A title. R.J. was named to the 2018 Louisiana Sports Writers Association Class 4A All-State team and competed in the annual Louisiana High School Basketball Coaches Association East -West All-Star Game.

"When we first started talking to Jeremy about him coming to Angelo State, he kept telling us about his friend RJ who was transferring from UL Lafayette also.  So Coach Lewis immediately started talking to RJ and everything fell into place for him to attend ASU.  He will have three years to play for the Rams which is very exciting considering his high-flying ability and his talent on both ends of the court.  RJ averaged a double-double every year of playing high school basketball, was a three star prospect coming out of high school, and rated as one of the nation's top 100 power forwards in the 2018 class.  RJ is not just a great athlete, he is an elite athlete.  Our fans will love how he plays above the rim on offense and how he protects the rim on defense.  He will fill the stat sheet up for the next three seasons for the Rams," stated Boone.

Salisu Yahaya comes to ASU from Tallahassee Community College in Tallahassee, Florida, where he spent one year playing for the Eagles. Last season, Salisu played in 29 games, starting 10 of them, and averaged 5.7 points per game on 57 percent shooting from the field and 46.2 percent from three, to go along with 4.6 rebounds per game and an 80.4 percent free throw percentage. He helped the Eagles to a 22-7 record last year, including a 114-56 win over Red Devils Basketball Academy in which Salisu had 19 points and 20 rebounds on 8-12 shooting in 25 minutes of action. Salisu's hometown is Jonesboro, Arkansas, and he played his high school ball at Jonesboro High School, where he helped lead JHS to a top 25 national ranking by MaxPreps.

"No surprise here that we yet again recruited from Tallahassee Community College.  Coach Lewis formed a good relationship with now head coach, Zach Settembre, and tracked Salisu all season long.  We couldn't wait to get Salisu here on a visit to show him our campus and we are thrilled that Salisu is another student-athlete who will have three years to play for the Rams.  He also played for a good friend of mine in Wes Swift at Jonesboro High School.  He has good size and length and is very skilled for his position.  He can stretch the floor out to three and is a very athletic player around the rim.  He can also defend multiple positions and is a very intelligent player.  Salisu was such a great addition to this recruiting class for our front court," said Boone.

Burone Edwards a native of San Antonio, Texas. He was a two sport athlete playing basketball and football at Roosevelt High School. Burone, coming out of high school, was ranked #48 in the class of 2017 rankings by Texas Hoops. Burone went on to play at Missouri State University West Plains out of high school. In 28 games he averaged 11 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 1.9 assists per game. Burone shot 36.4 percent from beyond the arc, 47.4 percent from the field, and 80.8 percent from the free throw line.

"There was one player that Coach Lewis brought to my desk every single week when we had recruiting meetings since the weekend we watched the junior college jamboree in Fort Worth last October and it was Burone Edwards.  Combine that with the fact that he played for a good friend of ours in Chris Popp at Missouri State West Plains and we tracked him all season long.  Burone is from San Antonio but played his junior college basketball in Missouri and we are happy to bring him back home to Texas.  He is a skilled and athletic 'tweener' that plays multiple positions on offense and can defend multiple positons on defense.  ASU fans will love some of the very athletic plays that Burone can make on both ends of the floor," Boone stated.

BJ Anderson hails from Amarillo, Texas, and played his high school ball at Tascosa High School. In his senior year, he averaged 17 points per game, seven rebounds per game, and three assists per game, helping lead his team to a 21-9 final record. BJ was a two-time All-District performer, in addition to being named a two-time All-Area player as well. Following his senior year, he was selected to play in the Texas GoldenSpread All-Star Game.

"BJ is such a great get for us for so many reasons.  BJ is from West Texas, his sister is an ASU alum (who brought him to our camp last summer), his cousin Darrell Collins played here at ASU on LSC Championship teams back in the 80's, and he is oozing with talent and potential.  He has a college-ready body and is a good athlete.  He played for a great high school coach in Steve Jackson and BJ had a really good high school career at Tascosa High School.  BJ is an extremely hard worker and is coming in very eager to get better by getting in the weight room and getting in the gym on his own to continue to develop his game.  BJ played around the rim a lot in high school but is a player who has good skill and is willing to work to constantly improve his skill to be an athletic forward that can dribble, pass, and shoot at a high level.  ASU fans will love what he brings to the table for the next four years," Boone added.

Andre' Nunley comes to ASU from Trinity High School. Andre' led Trinity high in scoring two years in a row. In his senior year, he averaged 19 points, five assists, six rebounds and two steals per game. He led his team to become District Champs and also to the fourth round, where they lost to the #3 team in the State North Crowley. Andre' was All District MVP, Defense MVP, All-Area, All-Region, and All-State.  Andre hit 1,000 points his senior year. He also played in the All-State TABC 6A-5A All Star Game.

"Andre is a competitive bulldog who literally only goes at one speed at all times and that is full throttle.  He plays with such a high motor and competitive edge with a chip on his shoulder that it will be hard to keep him off the floor.  He will play the point guard position for us and that is such a huge position to have a guy with his tenacity and his lead-by-example leadership style. Dre can make plays on both ends of the floor and do not let his size fool you.  He has some good bounce for a small guard and can play up on the rim.  Dre played with a great high school coach in Mark Villines at Euless Trinity High School.  This past season, Trinity High School went three rounds deep in the playoffs, beating BJ Anderson's Tascosa team and North Crowley High School, before falling to the eventual state champions, Duncanville High School.  Dre was named to the 6A All-State team for his outstanding senior season.  Dre will help us win a lot of games in his four years here at ASU," Boone said.

Travis Reeh comes from Our Lady of the Hill High School and hails from Kerrville, Texas. Travis averaged 28.5 points, 4.6 assist, and 3.2 rebounds per game his senior year. He led his team to a state title (28-6), a district record of 12-0 and was the TABC small private school player of the year.

"A few things will jump out right away when you look at Travis' basketball resume.  He has won two state championships with his Our Lady of the Hills team from Kerrville, Texas, and this past season he won the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches Player of the Year award for the small private school division.  He also played for a great high school coach in Chris Ramirez, who has been so good to us in our time here at ASU.  Coach Lewis brought Travis' name to the table in recruiting this past spring and we brought Travis up to try out for our team.  He really impressed us with his ability to shoot the ball and make intelligent plays on both ends of the floor.  He also communicated well on the floor and seemed to really fit in with our guys.  We knew we wanted him to be a part of our roster.  Travis will need the weight room to get his body ready for LSC play but there's no doubt with his work ethic and enthusiasm for the game, that he will accomplish that with no issues.  We look forward to coaching him for the next four years," stated Boone.

Check out the full roster on angelosports.com.