BY MARIO AGUIRRE | STAFF WRITER
Here are The Monitor predictions for the 2014-15 boys basketball season:
District 30-6A Picks Favorite: McAllen Memorial
The Mustangs enter this year with one of the top athletes in the Valley in D.J. Johnson, who’s expected to take the next step after averaging 10.1 points and 4.8 rebounds as a sophomore last year. The 6-foot-5 wing player, however, could be slow to start off the year as one of four football players expected to start for the basketball team.
“They’re a year older,” McAllen Memorial coach Sam Cortez said. “They understand what they have to do now. We’re a little bit stronger, a little bit quicker and we have a lot of height.”
Spoiler: McAllen Rowe
The Warriors could very well be in the mix for a district title. Though they graduated one of the leading scorers in the Valley in Mauricio Campos, who poured in 18.6 points per game, the Warriors have some experience in the mix with five seniors and four juniors on the team.
“We happen to have a lot of hungry players in our program. Everybody’s waiting for their turn to compete,” Rowe coach Jose Luis Yebra said.
The rest of the district: McAllen High, Mission High, La Joya High, La Joya Juarez-Lincoln, La Joya Palmview
District 31-6A Picks Favorite: Edinburg North
The Cougars graduated the majority of their team, bringing back only three players in Joseph Villarreal, Rolando “Tito” Salazar and Rodrigo Romero.
“We pretty much have a new team,” North coach Rudy Garcia said. “But we have some good kids that hopefully it’ll allow them to come in and play to their potential and work hard for the season.”
The trio, who were part of the rotation last season, are the only returners from the Edinburg North team that advanced to the regional quarterfinals last year.
Spoiler: PSJA North
The Raiders struggled last season in the old 31-5A, but they should do better in a district whose playoff contenders seem uncertain right now.
Standout sophomore brothers Damien and Darren Fuentes lead the backcourt, having averaged a combined 9.6 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.2 steals per contest last year.
The rest of the district: Edinburg High, Edinburg Economedes, PSJA Memorial, Weslaco High, Weslaco East
District 31-5A Picks Favorite: Edinburg Vela
The SaberCats have quickly built their program to one of the Valley’s best. In their second year, they advanced to the regional quarterfinal, before losing to Harlingen South 62-60.
They have a nice piece coming back with Ryan Garza, who did a little bit of everything for Edinburg Vela during his freshman season. He’ll be asked to step up even more now for a team that graduated four players.
Spoiler: Sharyland High
The Rattlers are arguably the biggest threat to Vela’s title aspirations. Much will depend on how they come together with penty of new pieces in the mix.
The rest of the district: Mission Veterans, Sharyland Pioneer, Rio Grande City, Roma, Valley View
District 32-5A Picks Favorite: PSJA High
The Bears lost All-Valley Player of the Year Luis Mancillas Jr. and their coach, but they boast 10 seniors, including Jordan Garcia, third on the team in scoring with 7.6 points and 1.4 steals per game.
Spoiler: Donna High
The Redskins return first-team all-district selection Ruben Arrambide, a 6-foot-5 post who has improved his player underneath the the basket following offseason workouts.
The rest of the district: Brownsville Pace, Brownsville Porter, Donna North, Edcouch-Elsa, Mercedes, PSJA Southwest