By ADAM KUJAWSKI, Staff Writer
It was only a matter of time, but Andres Salgado seized his opportunity to lead the Pace Vikings as a starter.
When the Vikings’ 2013-14 campaign was coming to a close, key injuries left their team virtually depleted.
Recognizing the necessity to stock his team’s roster during the final stretch, Pace coach Jose Luis Ramirez called up some players from the freshman squad to fill bench roles and play limited minutes. One of those freshmen was Andres Salgado.
Salgado rarely saw the court near the end of last year, but Ramirez knew he’d found somebody who would have an immediate impact on his varsity roster this year.
“He was on the freshman team for most of the (2013-14) season,” Ramirez said. “We knew he could play, but he just needed more playing time. And we knew if we put him on the varsity, he just wasn’t going to play. We were 1-12 with three games to go and we were looking at next year.”
Following his short stint on varsity as a freshman, Salgado wasted no time leaving his mark on the Pace squad this year.
As a first-year starter, he averaged 14.4 points per game, 2.7 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 3.1 steals as the Vikings finished second in District 32-5A. His effort has earned him the RGVSports.com 2015 All-Valley Boys Basketball Newcomer of the Year award.
“There is no amount of words to describe how much this means to me,” Salgado said. “I knew coming to Pace that I wanted to prove people wrong not just as an individual but as a team.”
In fact, Salgado and the Vikings may have proved many wrong. On the heels of last season’s 2-14 district record, Pace’s second-place finish (11-3 in District 32-5A) was quite a turnaround.
Ramirez recalled the influence the young Salgado had among his more experienced teammates.
“We kind of anchored our offense around him because he’s so confident when it comes to shooting the ball. He always seems to find the ball, the ball always seems to find him,” Ramirez said. “Even the seniors and juniors responded to what he did. I’ve never seen that happen in my 20 years. It’s usually the younger kids looking to the seniors.”
As a team leader, Salgado is adamant about sharing the accolade with his teammates, recognizing their importance in his success this season.
“I learned the real definition of the words ‘team’ and ‘brothers,’” he said. “I knew I could count on them for everything.”
Adam Kujawski covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him at (956) 982-6663 or via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @adamkujo1.