After an exciting season and lengthy offseason, the Red Raiders are set to open their basketball season against Northwestern State Monday night at the United Supermarkets Arena.

The Red Raiders are looking for development around themselves against the Southland conference opponent in the Demons.

The Demons are under a new coach, Mike McConathy, the former Missouri State coach who brought three of his former players Demarcus Sharp, Isaac Haney, and his third leading scorer Ja’Monta Black.

Along with the players who followed the coach, Northwestern State has some interesting pieces on their roster, including 7’3” 315-pound center Jordan Wilmore, the transfer from Missouri.

Wilmore is a former Rivals three-star but struggled to make an impact in the Missouri lineup over the past two seasons. Mark Adams said he was worried about Wilmore because his team hasn’t played against someone with his size in a while.

The Demons also have a 6’8” forward Reggie Hill who can shoot the three well and did during his freshman season at Eastern Florida State College where he averaged 8.4 points per game and shot the three at a 37 percent clip.

Along with those pieces, Northwestern State’s most compelling story is Hansel Emmanuel who only has one arm. The freshman guard held an offer from Memphis and was one of the most interesting prospects from the 2022 class.

The Red Raiders will play all eleven of their healthy players on Monday, according to Adams on Friday.