By JOSHUA McKINNEY, Staff Writer
Steven Garza doesn’t feel like he played up to his level.
But coach Jose Luis Ramirez thinks the senior post player’s all-around abilities were crucial in the Pace Vikings’ district-title-winning season.
Now, Garza, a senior, officially ends his campaign as The Brownsville Herald’s All-Metro Offensive Player of the Year after combining with All-Metro Coach of the Year Jose Luis Ramirez to help Pace (22-10, 13-1) win the District 32-5A championship.
“I didn’t really expect to get that,” Garza said. “I know I did well in the season but I didn’t do my best. I’m kind of glad I got it.”
Garza scored 15.9 points, grabbed 3.1 rebounds and dished out 1.6 assists a game to lead Pace.
He also shot 33 percent from the three-point line, displaying his inside-outside abilities on offense.
“Steven has size. He could dribble, he could shoot the ball from outside and he could post you up inside,” Ramirez said. “Depending on who’s guarding him, that’s what (position) he’d play. If somebody small was on him, we’d post him up. If somebody big was on him, we’d pull him out and play him as a guard. If our guards were in foul trouble, he’d bring the ball up.
“He’s basically the all-around player, the kind of player that you knew you could count on for many things.”
The forward stepped up after an injury to Andres Salgado, the 2014-15 All-Metro Newcomer of the Year and an All-Metro first-team selection this season.
“Ultimately the key was we knew how tough he could be,” Ramirez said. “We expected him to bring in 20 points a night and there were times where he brought in more than that. Even when he thought he had a bad game, he brought in 22 or 23 points a night. Most of our offense ran through him. He drew two, three guys sometimes. That enabled us to get open looks for the outside players.”
The pressure of coming up big on a nightly basis didn’t bother Garza.
“I just try not to think about it,” he said. “I just play my game and play comfortable.”
Garza gave credit for his improvement to Ramirez, whose plan has always been to bring back a boys basketball district title to Pace.
“I expected a district title,” Ramirez said. “I expected that six years ago (when he started at Pace). Every season you go out there with the goal that you’re going to get that gold ball. We talked about it and we went out and worked. Last year, we came in second and in our minds, on paper, we had to win.”
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.