BY DENNIS SILVA II | STAFF WRITER
HIDALGO — Hidalgo’s boys basketball team reached the fourth round of the playoffs last season and returned seven players this season. The Pirates breezed through the regular season, ho-hummed their way to another district title, and are ranked No. 19 in Class 4A in the state heading into the start of the playoffs against Beeville-Jones on Tuesday.
And the key to it all may be the emergence of senior post Carmelo Reyes. Yes, senior guard Frankie Sanchez is the Valley’s leading scorer at 22.9 points per game. It’s true that Mike Espinoza tops the Valley in assists (7.5) and is third in steals (5.5). But the difference between this year’s Pirates and years past is they have a true interior presence in Reyes, who averages 16 points and 10.7 rebounds.
Reyes is a late-bloomer, having only played basketball since the seventh grade. And he may be the wild card if the Pirates (28-5) want to earn a trip to the state tournament next month in San Antonio.
“He’s just now really starting to get to know his body, get to know his length and the type of athlete he can be,” Hidalgo coach Gus Sanchez said. “He’s still a kid trying to learn the game of basketball, and he’s had to work hard, work fast, to develop into the kind of kid he is.
“The speed he’s got at that post spot is the biggest difference for us. You have Mike and Frankie pushing the ball and there’s Carmelo sprinting down the middle. It’s a tough cover. It’s troubling for other teams.”
At 6-foot-3, Reyes has the size of a post player, but runs the court like a guard. Because the game is still relatively new to him, he has mastered only the basics, but those basics are essential: shooting, chinning the ball to keep it away from pursuers, boxing out.
A good amount of Reyes’ rebounds comes off the offensive glass, allowing more chances for Sanchez and Espinoza to gun away. Some of the Pirates’ point totals this season would make the Rio Grande Valley Vipers proud: 80, 88, 89, 90, 106.
“It’s a lot easier when you have someone with size who you can rely on,” Espinoza said. “You just give him the ball and he can get you stuff. You take a shot, and if you miss he’ll go and get it. He’s a better asset, a big asset, and when you throw in the fact he’s as quick as us guards, he’s just a really good player.”
It’s not lost on Sanchez that more opportunities to score mean a greater chance at winning.
“You can design all the stuff you want, but if you can get some extra offensive rebounds, some extra shots, that’s big,” Sanchez said. “He just gives us more of a chance offensively.”
To thrive in the Pirates’ fast-paced system, Reyes isn’t asked to do much: run hard, catch the ball, keep his head up and finish around the bucket. As the season has progressed, though, the team is finding out he has more and more in his arsenal.
Reyes has gone from a post who could do little more than run the floor to a player that now has three back-to-the-basket moves in halfcourt sets.
“It’s a lot of hard work and dedication to playing basketball,” said Reyes, notorious for arriving early before practices and staying late after them to work on his game. “I give a lot of credit to my teammates, to my coaches, for doing what they need to do to make someone better. You play with guys like Frankie and Mike, you can only improve.”
Reyes and Espinoza said an eye-opener for Reyes was backing up Hidalgo’s post players, Matt Dillard and Hugo Frias, last season. Reyes had no choice but to learn how to compete with the big boys.
“Those guys were physical, bigger than him. They were rough on him,” Espinoza said. “He knew he had to step it up, and what he learned last year he had to apply this year. He had to go harder.”
Sanchez said another reason behind Reyes’ progress is because he wants to get better. Reyes asks a lot of questions. He will ask why. He studies pick-and-roll play. He loves learning about defensive alignments.
But more than anything, he loves winning. Reyes knows if the Pirates are to reach their peak, he will have to play a big role. The good news for Hidalgo is that he’s ready, and hungry, for it.
“I’m just working harder than I did last year,” Reyes said. “I want to be at a great level, especially this being my senior year. I want to affect the game more than I did last year, and to do that I knew I had to work at it.
“We’re a team of speed, and I try to be one of the fastest ones on the team. I try to start every game fast. Basketball is a fast game. If I’m able to be quick and be fast, especially early in games, that gives me an edge. Because of that, we feel we can push ourselves to a higher level. Now we just have to do that.”