By JOSHUA McKINNEY, Staff Writer
In case you weren’t paying attention, the Los Fresnos Falcons won back-to-back district titles this season, and one of the Metro-area’s best led the charge.
Los Fresnos point guard Hugo De La Cruz is The Brownsville Herald’s 2015-16 All-Metro Most Valuable Player after guiding his team on the court through one of the school’s best basketball seasons in recent memory.
“Last year, I was first-team all-district (32-6A) and I told myself, ‘It’s my goal to get MVP,’” De La Cruz said. “All summer I worked hard for it. I put all my effort to it and they gave me MVP.”
The senior guided a talented Los Fresnos squad, which finished ranked 19th in the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches final Class 6A poll, to a second-straight District 32-6A championship and another trip to the UIL Class 6A area round.
“It was a struggle since we lost to (Harlingen) South with that buzzer beater (a 59-58 overtime loss Jan. 26),” De La Cruz said. “It hit us hard, but our coach told us good teams get back up right after a loss and we did. From there, we kept winning. There were so many good players. The upcoming sophomores helped us a lot. They helped us seniors do a lot.”
The Falcons (28-8, 13-1) bounced back to win seven straight games, including a 60-52 triumph over Weslaco East in the bi-district round.
De La Cruz’s All-Metro MVP honor is just the tip of the iceberg, as the senior also earned District 32-6A MVP honors for a second consecutive season as well as landing on the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches All-Region team for Class 6A Region IV.
He averaged 19.2 points, 3.7 rebounds, 3 assists and 2.7 steals per game during Los Fresnos’ district championship season.
Coach Marco Hinojosa thinks De La Cruz is a one-of-a-kind player with the ability to take over games at will.
“He’s special.” Hinojosa said. “I’m definitely going to miss him. I definitely haven’t had anybody as skilled as him. It’s been a privilege and honor to coach Hugo these past three years.”
After three seasons of growth, not only as an individual player, but also as a teammate, De La Cruz said it was easy to walk off the court knowing he and the Falcons made positive strides in 2015-16.
“It means a lot to me (winning another district title),” De La Cruz said. “It shows the hard work I put in, how dedicated I was. It was a good feeling. I told my team we were going to do it and we did. I told you we were going to get and we did.”
Player:
Hugo De La Cruz, senior, guard, Los Fresnos
Offensive Player of the Year:
Steven Garza, senior, forward, Pace
Defensive Player of the Year:
Darian Thuku, senior, forward, Brownsville Veterans Memorial
Newcomer of the Year:
Oscar Lozoya, sophomore, guard, Rivera
First team:
Aaron Villarreal, senior, guard, Brownsville Veterans Memorial
Gabe Martinez, sophomore, guard, Hanna
Darren Gonzalez, senior, guard, Lopez
Andres Salgado, junior, guard, Pace
Rodolfo Cabido, sophomore, forward, St. Joseph Academy
Second team:
Jordan Urbina, sophomore, guard, Los Fresnos
Andrew Carrizales, sophomore, wing, Los Fresnos
Alex Rangel, senior, guard, Rivera
Mike Reyes, senior, guard, Porter
Jose Atkinson, senior, guard, Port Isabel
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.Most Valuable