MERCEDES — Mercedes guard David Clower has spent the past three summers traveling across the country playing basketball in the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) circuit with the McAllen Ballers, a team made up of high school hoopers from the Rio Grande Valley.
The seasons spent on the court suiting up for the Tigers and the summers playing non-stop basketball has resulted in an opportunity to play college basketball at Dallas College-North Lake, a National Junior College Athletic Association school located in Irving, Texas. Clower signed to attend and continue his athletic career in the Mercedes High School gym Wednesday.
| Mercedes guard David Clower, center, signed to play basketball at Dallas College-North Lake, a National Junior College Athletic Association school in Irving, Texas, in Jim Norris Gymnasium at Mercedes High School on Wednesday. Photo by Bryan Ramos. |
“It’s a grind every day, non-stop,” Clower said. “From summer workouts with Mercedes to McAllen Ballers practice two hours after, it was a grind, but I watched my game excel from my sophomore year to my senior year.”
Clower lit up scoreboards across the RGV during his senior season. He averaged 22 points, six rebounds, two steals and two blocks per game.
The 6-foot-2 guard upped his scoring averages from 12 points a game as a sophomore to 18 as a junior before averaging 22 in his final season, which earned Clower The Monitor’s 2022-23 All-Area Boys Basketball Offensive Player of the Year honor.
Now, he heads to a Dallas North Lake program that won the 2022 NJCAA Division III Championship
“They’re going to be getting a hard-worker and someone that’s going to guard the best player on the other team and make everybody on the court better. I’m going to try to be a good point guard, that’s all that matters to me, being a good point guard,” Clower said.
Edinburg North’s Cristian Faz, who also played for the McAllen Ballers this past summer, also signed to attend and play basketball at Dallas College-North Lake on Wednesday at Edinburg North High School.
| Edinburg North guard Cristian Faz, seated center, signed to play basketball at Dallas College-North Lake, a National Junior College Athletic Association school in Irving, Texas, at Edinburg North High School on Wednesday. Photo via Edinburg North Athletics |
Faz, a second team all-area selection, led the co-district 31-6A champion Cougars with 13.5 points per game to go with 2.7 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.5 steals.
The two will continue as teammates at the next level, along with Harlingen High guard Ryan Sanchez.
“It’s amazing, man. Ryan and Faz, I’ve known them for a while,” Clower said. “We’ve built good relationships this past year and it’s good that I’m going to be going to college with them. They’ll probably be my roommates, so our relationship is only going to become stronger.”