The NYU men’s basketball team has begun the season with a 3-2 record and the Violets have high aspirations for the season. No one is more of a believer than Stern junior and co-captain Max Ralby.

Ralby is from Boca Raton, Florida, and played basketball all four years of his high school career, leading his team to the Class 4A Championships in his final two years while also being named MVP in his junior and senior years.

After an impressive 2013-2014 year with the Violets and leading the team in steals and assists, Ralby was named a co-captain for the 2014-2015 season.

Ralby pointed out that while the team has had some early success, there is still plenty to improve.

“It’s early and it’s a work in progress,” he said. “We are working toward being our best when it matters most, in UAA play. We have definitely shown signs of greatness and exposed areas where we need to improve. We are definitely on the right track, and I think the sky is the limit with this team, if we keep working hard.”

Both of the Violets losses this season have been nail biters, as the team lost only in the final minutes to Union College on Nov. 16 and The Sage Colleges on Nov. 21.

“The losses against Union and Sage were tough losses,” he said. “While we can look at the final minutes, we need to look at our play for 40 minutes. If we can put together a complete game, I like our chances against anybody in the country. Going forward we do need to be a little better down the stretch, in terms of getting key stops and taking care of the ball, but again we are working toward that and I think we will be where we need be when it matters most.”

The Violets’ victories have been decisive, winning all of them by 10 or more points.

“In terms of offense, the games we have won we have really been able to execute on the offensive end and take advantage of our presence inside,” Ralby said.

Ralby also expressed the importance of the Violets bringing back key players while at the same time adding young talent this season.

“Every year the team changes, not making it better or worse, but just different,” he said. “This year, we have a lot of our core returning, which will give us some great experience down the road as well as some key additions. I think our team this year has all the key pieces to be really good and if we can put it all together at the right time we can be very successful.”

Off the court, Ralby is in the midst of recruiting for a finance internship, but it has always been a dream of his to play professional basketball.

“Upon graduation, if I have the opportunity to continue to play basketball overseas, it is something that I could not pass down,” he said. “I love this game, and I would love to play competitively as long as I can. Not to mention living overseas would be an incredible experience in and of itself.”

Ralby will be back in action Dec. 6 at 4 p.m. to take on Stevens Institute of Technology at Coles Sports Center with the rest of his teammates.

A version of this article appeared in the Dec. 2 print edition. Email Kyle Luther at [email protected].