SAUL BERRIOS-THOMAS | THE MONITOR
MERCEDES — Last February, Mercedes was ousted from the Class 5A playoffs in the bi-district round by Sharyland Pioneer with a 75-73 overtime loss.
After the game, then-sophomore Jared Castañeda looked around and realized something about his team’s future.
“The seniors were in tears, and that just kind of clicked in my head,” Castañeda said. “It hit me really hard, like, ‘Wow, they are going to be gone next year. I have to take that next step.’ Me and Caleb (Arthur, junior forward), being the returners, we didn’t know who was going to come back from last year’s group. It kind of just fell on top of us. We are trying to take that into consideration every time we play, that we are not like last year’s team. So we just have to keep playing our hardest every time.”
Mercedes coach Rick Treviño is starting two juniors and three sophomores. He only has two players back from last year’s varsity team, and neither got significant playing time. Castañeda is one of those returners.
“I didn’t play very much, but I am not very down by it,” Castañeda said. “It was a learning experience. I got to learn from Rey and Jaime and the other guys. They would teach me, and I would just learn from watching the game.”
Castañeda gravitated toward the seniors from last year’s group. Rey Rincon and Jaime Rodriguez were playmakers for Mercedes. Rodriguez has since moved on to the collegiate ranks, but he still keeps a close eye on his Tigers.
“We had a tough loss to Grulla a couple weeks ago,” Castañeda said. “(Jaime) texted me. He told me, ‘You have to take the leadership.’ He felt like I wasn’t giving enough leadership. The next day, we got to work, and that’s what kind of led into the next week, when we played against PSJA.”
The game against PSJA High is a high point in the season so far for Treviño and the Tigers.
“We had a good win against PSJA High the other day,” Treviño said “PSJA High was scoring a lot of points. They were really high flying. They beat some teams in our district in Donna North and Edcouch. We knew that would be a good test for us. Right now, that was one of our more decent wins.”
Castañeda spent countless hours going against Rincon and Rodriguez in practice last year. His commitment to getting better has shown in his play this year, as he has been one of the team’s leading scorers. The leadership aspect, however, has taken some time for him.
“(Against Rincon and Rodriguez in practice,) it was a battle every day. We were always going at it, back and forth. They wouldn’t hold back, and I wouldn’t hold back, either. We would go at it 100 percent. It was like a war out there in practice,” Castañeda said. “Taking that leadership role, it’s really new to me. It’s just like a whole new experience, and I am learning little by little. Coach is helping me out. And hopefully, by the end of the season, we will make something out of it.”
The Tigers have spent much of this season learning on the fly. Treviño said this is the most he has had to teach his team in six years. But the fruits of that labor are already showing, as Mercedes sits at 11-5. The Tigers just won the consolation championship at the tournament they co-hosted with La Feria last weekend.
Perhaps the biggest boon of the season has been the production of sophomore Jordan Ovalle. The guard has led Mercedes in points on many occasions this year. He has a knack for finding a lane to the hoop in traffic, and he can shoot the ball, as well. He and Castañeda have formed the core of the Tigers’ offense for much of the season.
“Those guys handle the ball a lot. They shoot the ball a lot,” Treviño said. “They are some of our smaller guys. They are lucky to hit 5-6, 5-7, but they move, they hustle and they know how to put it up from the 3-point line, where they are tougher.”
Castañeda’s leadership has shined the brightest in his relationship with Ovalle. The two grew up playing in the same leagues, but rarely on the same team. They had heated battles against each other at recreation centers across the Mid-Valley.
“We had some confrontation coming up, because we were so competitive,” Castañeda said. “Once we got on the same team, that translated in practice. Now it translates into the games, to see if we can top each other.”
“I have games where I am good and games where I am bad, but my team helps me through those tough games,” Ovalle said. “I feel like Jared is more of the leader on this team. Jared passes me the ball, gets me open, sets his feet and passes out. Then, I just have to hit the shot.”
Right now, Castañeda is making his teammates better. As he progresses, that skill is expected to grow, and his teammates will continue to benefit from it.
“We always had senior leadership, but we don’t have any returning seniors this year,” Treviño said. “We are looking for that leadership from our returners, Jared and Caleb. At the same time, we are telling everybody, ‘If you are a sophomore or a junior, we love that you are coming in and being active and leading by example.’ So we are looking for leadership from anybody right now. I think together as a team, we are doing OK.”