By ROY HESS, Staff Writer
The Lopez Lobos are a team in transition at this point of the basketball season, as most of the players are newcomers to the varsity.
As the Lobos continue to adapt and come together, they’re expecting the new year to bring opportunities for improvement to coincide with the start of District 32-6A action Jan. 3 at Rivera.
The Lobos are 3-12 with their final non-district game set for 2:30 p.m. Tuesday at home against Sharyland Pioneer.
“It’s been a rough beginning for us this season,” said Lopez coach Neil Schuster, whose team played last weekend at a tournament in McAllen. “We began with only three or four players with any kind of varsity experience, and that includes just a couple of seniors.
“We’re very green, and it’s taking time,” Schuster added. “But we’re coming together. We hope to be playing our best ball when it counts the most in district.”
Lopez runs an offense that includes four guards and one post player.
Michael Vasquez, a senior guard, leads Lopez by averaging 15 points per game. Teammate Darren Gonzalez, a junior guard, also is a scoring threat as he averages 12 points per game.
In addition, another player contributing on the offensive end is freshman guard Johnny Ibarra. Schuster says Ibarra is “knocking down some big shots for us.”
Sparking the Lobos defensively is sophomore guard Julio Jimenez.
“Even though we haven’t had the success that we’ve wanted, I don’t see any quit in these guys,” Schuster said. “I tell them the success will come. It will come with time. I hope we get there soon. You can tell these guys want it.”
UNLIMITED FRONTIER: IDEA Frontier of Brownsville is off to an 8-6 start to the season and boasting a team of experienced ballplayers as the Chargers prepare for the beginning of District 32-3A competition next month.
Along with the Chargers, other members of 32-3A are IDEA Quest of Edinburg, Lyford, Santa Rosa and Monte Alto. Frontier opens district play Jan. 16 at Santa Rosa.
“We feel good about our district,” Frontier coach Jerry De La Garza said. “We’ve already beaten Edinburg Quest and Monte Alto (in tournaments).”
The Chargers have played in tournaments at Progreso, Santa Maria and San Perlita. They finished second in San Perlita and won the consolation championship at Santa Maria. They’re coming off last Friday’s alumni game, which the current varsity won 52-38.
The Chargers also posted a recent road win against Port Isabel. They’ll play host to the Tarpons in a rematch Tuesday.
De La Garza likes what he is seeing from his team.
“They’re hustling and fighting hard,” the IDEA coach said of his squad. “The guys are confident. They feel like they can beat anybody.”
Senior shooting guard Victor Castillo, sophomore shooting guard Angel Alanis and senior post Xavier Garcia are scoring 13, 12.5 and 11 points, respectively, for the Chargers.
Another important contributor is freshman point guard David Vera, who is averaging four assists and three steals per game.