By JOSHUA McKINNEY, Staff Writer
The stakes are high for Brownsville Veterans Memorial this season, and a veteran squad expects to lead them to new heights.
Brownville Veterans’ goals for the season include the District 32-6A title and a deeper run in the postseason after last year’s bi-district exit, and with nine returning varsity players to help lead the Chargers through a tough district those lofty dreams could become reality.
“We have a lot to accomplish this season,” third-year varsity junior Aaron Villarreal said. “We have a lot of goals that we’ve set for the season, and I feel like we’re a better team this season.”
Coach Larry Gibson thinks the district’s usual suspects — Los Fresnos, Hanna, Harlingen and Harlingen South — will still provide tough competition, but Brownsville Veterans’ veteran squad could make the difference.
“I think we’re one of the top teams in our district because of our experience,” Gibson said. “A lot of the other teams have young players this year. We don’t have any sophomores on the team, and some of our juniors played on varsity as sophomores last year. We brought three kids up from junior varsity. The rest were with us last year. That’s a real good thing.”
Gibson hopes Brownsville Veterans can use the Brownsville ISD Tournament to establish an early rhythm with the returning core of starters.
“That’s the main thing it does,” Gibson said. “You can establish a rhythm playing all those games and see what you have with your kids. You try to play a lot of them.”
The early-season tournament also will help players like Jeremiah Meyers make the transition from football to basketball.
Meyers is a senior guard who also starred as a wide receiver on Brownsville Veterans’ playoff football team this season. Gibson expects an adjustment period for Meyers, who is a key leader on the court for the Chargers, for the first week of the season.
“They were a playoff team, so their minds were 100 percent dedicated to football,” Gibson said. “It’s a little bit different for Jeremiah because he’s an athlete. He’ll go out there and give everything he’s got. But (he’ll sub out early in the season) because he doesn’t have his basketball legs under him. That’s what we’ll use this tournament for. We won’t play him in long spurts.”
But the two-sport star isn’t concerned about any post-football jetlag affecting his game and relishes the chance to return to his favorite sport.
“It’s not as hard as you think, especially since I’ve played (basketball) my whole life,” Meyers said. “I’ll just roll into it ready to go, especially with being a senior.”
Meyers had six points, four rebounds, three steals and one assist in the Chargers’ 82-52 win over Rio Hondo during the first round of the BISD Tournament.
Joshua McKinney writes for the Brownsville Herald. You can reach him at (956) 982-6663 or via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @joshuabvherald.