By MARIO AGUIRRE | STAFF WRITER
In 25 years, Edinburg High coach Esequiel Cuellar has never had the type of youth in the starting lineup that he expects this season.
The move isn’t a result of low numbers, but rather his confidence in rolling out two freshmen for the first time, accompanied by two sophomores and a senior. Their offense will very likely be centered around 6-foot-4 sophomore Jesus Cantu, whose versatility on both ends of the court is expected to spark the Bobcats.
“With the young kids we have, I feel we could be better than last year,” Cuellar said. “They bring more to the table as a team than what we had last year (in tying for second place in district).”
Even though the Bobcats graduated four players, including three starters, they have five returners in the mix, and are very much optimistic about their chances to challenge for a district title, in which Weslaco High is the favorite.
With Cantu in the post, the Bobcats hope to open up shooting for Andrew Cantu, the district’s offensive player of the year in 2014, and two-guard Rolando Rocha. The biggest challenge, Cuellar said, is bringing the newcomers up to speed.
“When I say we’re behind last year’s team right now, I don’t mean talent-wise,” Cuellar said. “I mean, learning the game, learning what it is that we’re doing on the floor, executing the offense and defense.
“That’s our major factor right now, is just teaching these kids how to play the game. When we do that, though, we’ll be fine.”
CONTINUING TO BUILD
Because of the makeup of his roster, McAllen Rowe coach Jose Luis Yebra went with a small-ball lineup last year in which his team favored outside shots rather than pounding the ball inside.
With only two seniors graduating, the Warriors expect much of the same run-and-gun offense in 2015.
“We’ll run some sets, but we don’t have the height to run a half-court offense,” Yebra said. “So we’ll try to take advantage of our speed and shooting.”
Early on, Yebra said he has confidence that any one of his players is capable of hitting an outside shot. Leading scorer Daniel Sotuyo is back with the team, along with point guard Alex Keith. And between Caleb Garza delivering in big games and Freddy Ayala manning the paint, Yebra believes his team should be in the running once again for a postseason berth.
COMING TOGETHER
At times, McAllen Memorial coach Sam Cortez wishes he “had five basketballs to go around.”
Such is the level of talent this year with the Mustangs, especially with four-year starter D.J. Johnson leading the way. But even with Johnson’s absence early on due to his commitment to the football program, Cortez believes he’ll have “a lot of weapons” in store in the early going.
“It all just depends on who we’re playing,” he said. “But the kids remember that we’re a team, and it’s not about individuals.”