By MARIO AGUIRRE | STAFF WRITER
McALLEN — From the sideline, McAllen Rowe coach Jose Luis Yebra points to the opposing corners of the 3-point arc, directing his players to spread out. Alex Keith, his point guard, dribbles past the midcourt line, and Yebra wants his players ready to anticipate a kickout.
In these instances, Keith attacks the basket with two things in mind — go in for a layup or draw two defenders and find an open man. If one isn’t available, the Warriors swing the ball around until they do, or try their hand at penetrating once again.
This is Rowe’s approach this year. Having graduated nine players and wiping away their entire frontline, the Warriors now depend on shooting, speed and conditioning — not so much an interior presence, as they did last season.
“This may be the smallest team I’ve had here (in 16 years), so we’ve just had to adjust to our personnel,” said Yebra, whose tallest players this season are generously listed at 6 feet. “We depend on the 3-point shot. And when we’re on, we can be very effective.”
As a team, the Warriors are shooting at a 36-percent clip from behind the arc, with Daniel Sotuyo hitting 47.4 percent of his attempts and Maury Campos draining 36.4. On Friday, they combined to drill 5 of the team’s 9 long balls in a 64-38 victory over Edinburg North in the City of Palms Tournament.
The win helped Rowe (7-8) inch closer to the .500 mark, after having faced competition from Corpus Christi and San Antonio earlier in the season.
Friday’s game, though, is more representative of where the Warriors hope to be, especially with district nearing.
Knowing what the makeup of his team was going to look like last year, Yebra stressed conditioning during the offseason. Just as important as shooting percentage, he wanted his players to be able to run up and down the court — to apply a full-court press and attack the basket on the other end.
When successful, the press can help make up for any lack of size by forcing turnovers before a team sets up its offense. It also helps to have the opposition chase after Rowe with its run-and-gun style of play.
Yebra rotated as many as five guys Friday, keeping fresh legs on the court at all times. And just about each of them, from the guards to the post, have proven themselves as capable scoring options.
“I feel like our team is full of shooters,” Sotuyo said. “Almost anyone on the team can shoot the 3 pretty well, and we’re a pretty quick team, as well. I feel when our shooters get hot, we’re a really good team.”
There’s that qualifier — if. At times, the shots haven’t fallen for Rowe, which partly explains their .500 record.
Twice against Corpus Christi Carroll, the Warriors fell behind 20 points and struggled to shoot their way out of the hole. Yebra said “it could’ve been a lot of factors,” but ultimately “we weren’t making any shots.”
“Sometimes we live and die by the 3,” he added. “We’re just teaching the kids to be patient and get to the basket because if you’re able to spread the floor, you’re going to be able to get to the basket.”
Keith, who orchestrates the offense, can do both. He can drive to the basket and he can also shoot at a 35-percent rate from 3s. He’s doled out 48 assists, so far, many to wipe-open shooters. In addition to his marksmanship, Campos has totaled 42 assists, a handful directed to Bryan Ibarra, who is sinking 34 percent of his attempts from behind the arc.
“I think we’re playing hard,” said Campos, a three-year letterman. “We lost a lot of height, so we have to take advantage of our speed and get after it. Last year, we wouldn’t run that many fast breaks. But this year, since we have speed, we’re taking advantage of it and getting out in the corner and getting ready.”