By MARIO AGUIRRE | STAFF WRITER
Each time he slips on his No. 20 jersey, Hidalgo’s Frankie Sanchez pays tribute to his family.
See, his uncle, Gus, wore it in 1992, leading the Pirates to a regional tournament appearance. As a coach in 2014 and 2015, he returned once again, with Frankie as his go-to player.
And some time between that quarter-century span, Frankie’s two older brothers, a sister and his aunt donned the same figure.
“I just had to go with the tradition,” Frankie said, passing his hand over the front of his jersey. “This number, I really like.”
At Hidalgo, Frankie drew inspiration from a basketball lineage that’s unrivaled in the Valley. He used it as motivation to achieve what his relatives, accomplished athletes in their own right, could not — earning three consecutive district MVPs while making repeat trips to the Sweet 16. And in the process, he earned another honor that none of the Sanchezs can claim: that as an All-Valley Boys Basketball Player of the Year.
“For me, it feels amazing, especially having my uncle as a coach,” Frankie said. “All these four years, he’s been up on me, trying to get me to improve. It means a lot.”
This past season, Frankie averaged 22.8 points per game to lead the Valley in scoring. He added elements to his game that he had longed for: the comfort in driving with his right hand (Frankie’s a lefty); the confidence in knowing he could pull up for a shot and bury it consistently; and the ability to score utilizing his post moves.
Frankie was already a threat with his athleticism; adding all these variables to the mix made him a more lethal player.
“I think he was poised this year,” Gus said. “A lot of the times, he let the game come to him. You could see it in the playoffs. He didn’t get flustered; he wasn’t trying to force things. That comes with maturity.
“A lot of coaches asked about him. ‘Who’s that kid?’ I admired that. It didn’t matter what classification you play in. (Hidalgo is in 4A). He was electric, and he brought that excitement to the game.”
The bond the two share goes beyond hoops, and the obvious. In Frankie’s case, he grew up in a single-parent household without a father. Between his siblings and relatives, basketball was everything.
At age 6, he started tagging along with Gus, going to the neighborhood gym.
“I’d just be around him,” Frankie said. “I like to compete and I’d compete against people that were at the gym. I was just around him every time.
“It’s hard,” he added. “We’ve been through rough times. I’m not the type of person that likes when people get mad at me, but I stuck with it and everything that he did to get me better, it worked because of him and my family being there.”