By JOSHUA McKINNEY, Staff Writer
AT&T Center has seen it’s fair share of dominant big men over the years, so it’s only fitting that one of Brownsville’s best post players played on the same court in San Antonio when St. Joseph Academy faced the Hanna Golden Eagles on Monday.
Rodolfo Cabido, a junior forward for St. Joseph Academy, is one of the Metro area’s top post players and leads the Bloodhounds with dominant play in the paint.
Cabido has a quiet demeanor but plays loud under the basket and gives other teams in the Rio Grande Valley plenty of headaches when they face St. Joseph.
“It’s really good for us,” coach Sam Lucio said. “A lot of the Valley teams have great guard play, and to have a center (like Cabido) that we can throw the ball into the post and go to work and protect the paint on defense especially has been a big help to us.”
A new crackdown in physical defensive play also has helped the junior forward provide a more physical presence near the goal. Referees have cracked down on the use of hands and arms while defending.
“You got to pretty much play defense with your hands straight up and your chest,” he said. “It’s tough to play defense on a big man. We’re basing a lot of our offense for Rodolfo to get the ball down low. He’s got great footwork. He’s always had great footwork, and it shows in the games that his footwork is helping him get easy baskets. He’s doing a very good job for us this year.”
Cabido tries to take advantage of the emphasis on aggressive defense, which also gets him into a little trouble on gameday.
“I’ve worked really hard on my defense,” Cabido said. “I still pushed (a little) but the referee calls it, so I’ve stopped,” Cabido said. “(On offense) I put my elbow on them and grab them, and go to my back and spin them.”
His spin move is a product of footwork improvement, one area where Cabido put in tremendous work over the summer.
“I practiced on stairs with my coach in Matamoros, going up and down (repeatedly),” Cabido said. “I worked with my post trainer.”
“Footwork’s key for a post man,” Lucio said. “He’s got quick feet for a big man. I’m a big-time Spurs fan so it (was) awesome to watch him play on their court. I’m a big Tim Duncan fan, and his game reminds me a lot of Tim Duncan because he’s pretty fundamental.”
His post play will be a factor when it comes to playing in TAPPS 5A-District 2, which is loaded with some of toughest teams in the private ranks.
The Texas Association of Basketball Coaches’ voted all three of the Bloodhounds’ opponents in the top 25, with two top 10 teams in seventh-ranked San Antonio Antonian and ninth-ranked San Antonio St. Anthony. San Antonio Central Catholic, the district’s fourth team, is ranked 18th.
“It’s going to help us because Rodolfo does a good job in the paint,” Lucio said. “He doesn’t let anybody go in the paint. He’s going to put a body on them. He’s probably one of the best rebounders in the Valley. We probably have one of the biggest teams in the Valley, but when we go to San Antonio we’re not as big as we think we are.”
Cabido scored 17 points and had eight rebounds as St. Joseph beat Hanna 47-29.
Joshua McKinney covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him at (956) 982-6663 or via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @joshuabvherald.