BY NATE KOTISSO | STAFF WRITER
McALLEN — McAllen Memorial got off to an 0-2 start during the first week of the 2017-18 basketball season. After McAllen Memorial upset Edinburg High at the 2017 Mid-Valley Classic championship game in the second week, coach Clarisse Arredondo remarked about how far her team had come in a week’s time.
Early last season, the team was still trying to figure out how to play for each other. In comparison, the 2018-19 Mustangs appear to be ahead of schedule.
The Rio Grande Valley Basketball Coaches Association selected the Mustangs as the Valley’s No. 1 team Oct. 28. McAllen Memorial was also unanimously dubbed the preseason top-ranked team in RGVSports.com’s girls basketball top 10 poll.
“The girls have worked really hard to get that No. 1 ranking in the offseason and during the summer,” Arredondo said. “Knowing that we’re No. 1, we’ve got a huge target on our backs. Everyone’s going to bring their A-game every time we step onto the floor. We have to be consistent and play the way we know how to play.”
Sisters Tani and Cori Talamantez completed their first year of varsity basketball together last season. In 2017-18, Tani led the Mustangs in two categories: scoring (13.9) and assists (5.1). She was second on the team with 3.8 steals per game as a junior point guard.
“I already had that label as a leader last year,” Tani Talamantez said. “Coach A(rredondo) trusts me a lot, so I know I have to have the girls trust me as much as she does. Whenever they need help, I’m there to help. We take it everything we do seriously, but every now and then, I’ll mess around a little, just so we can all relax a bit. We need to remember that this is a game we love and we’re supposed to have fun.”
Cori (7.6 points per game; 3.1 steals per game in 2017-18) was a bright-eyed freshman for the Mustangs last year. The younger Talamantez relied on her older sister to help her with the do’s and don’ts of varsity basketball.
“It was scary at first,” Cori Talamantez said. “Everyone else was an upperclassman and I know my sister expected a lot of me. I’d always give her the ball. I was scared to handle it by myself, but I knew she was always there for me. As the season went on, things got better and better.”
“She depended on me a little bit more, but now I see that she can do her own thing,” Tani Talamantez said. “When she’s open, she doesn’t look for her big sister anymore. If I say, ‘I’m a little off. Can you take over?’ She doesn’t say, ‘No, no, no.’ I trust her out there, even with my eyes closed.”
With Tani set to graduate this spring, Arredondo’s plan is to feature Cori more as the quarterback on the floor.
“Some teams have one point guard and if that point guard gets hurt or tired or gets into foul trouble, that team could suffer,” Arredondo said. “For us, we’re capable and able of putting Cori at the point to help prepare her when Tani’s gone. That’s the primary reason of why I put freshmen on my squad because when we lose our seniors, we don’t really lose too much depth.”
McAllen Memorial returns six seniors from a team that dominated on their way to a 12-0 in district play, but lost in the first round of the playoffs including last year’s 62-46 loss to South San Antonio.
The Mustangs have dropped their bi-district round matchup four times in Arredondo’s first four years at Memorial: twice to Laredo United South and twice to South San Antonio.
“Two of our six seniors are four-year lettermen and the others are three-year lettermen,” Arredondo said. “I think our experience and having that bad taste in our months when the season ends so abruptly drives us. Our kids worked hard in the offseason because they want more. They want to go further and see their hard work pay off, not only in the district, but in the postseason, as well.”
McAllen Memorial will host Harlingen South in its opener at 7:30 tonight.
RGVSports.com Girls Basketball Preseason Top 10
Team Points
1. McAllen Memorial (3) 30
2. Edinburg High 25
3. Weslaco High 24
4. Harlingen High 22
T-5. Harlingen South 14
T-5. PSJA North 14
7. Mission Veterans 12
T-8. Brownsville Veterans 8
T-8. Hidalgo 8
10. Edinburg Vela 6
Other teams receiving votes: Sharyland Pioneer (2).