MARK MOLINA | Staff Writer
Despite the Santa Rosa Warriors being a win away from the state tournament and multiple accolades, junior guard Leo Lara still feels the anguish of falling in this year’s Class 3A regional finals in a 68-67 heartbreaker to Aransas Pass.
Head coach Johnny Cipriano knows that’s just how humble the junior guard is.
The hunger for success is just one of the reasons Lara is The Valley Morning Star’s All-STAR Most valuable Player after helping All-STAR Coach of the Year Cipriano capture Santa Rosa’s 12th consecutive District 32-3A title following a 22-8 regular season (29-6 overall).
“It feels good to be named MVP, but I wish we would have gone to state, you know,” Lara said. “To me, MVP doesn’t mean all that much to me right now.
“It’s all about our team, I feel like we’re one of the best team’s in the Valley and I want people to know we can compete with anybody.
This year Lara averaged 23.4 points, 5.1 steals, 4.5 assists, 6.9 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game.
He was also named the district’s MVP, and named to the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches All-Region and All-State teams.
Lara preaching a team-first attitude and not caring about any individual accolades comes as no surprise to Cipriano, who knows the junior well and has thought highly of him since he coached him as a kid.
“I’ve known him since I helped him with summer track in elementary,” Cipriano said. “He’s a team player and I think he’s at the top when it comes to players in the Valley and it’s not just me saying that. Coaches and articles throughout the year have said that.”
Lara’s grounded attitude and home life is what Cipriano feels drives him.
He recalls a game where Lara scored 32 points against Falfurrias his freshman year.
After speaking to Lara the next day, Cipriano knew the then-freshman guard’s attitude would never be a problem.
“After that game I asked him what his parents though of his performance and he tells me ‘Nothing, my mother told me I needed to play better defense,” Cipriano said. “I started laughing and I told myself that his parents will take care of him that way and I don’t have to worry about it.”
Lara, however, attributes his success to Cipriano’s tutelage and considers him not only one of the best coaches around, but as an all-around good person, which is why he feels the Warriors basketball program successful.
“He’s a great motivator and he started me off with a basketball,” Lara said. “He’s just a great person, I’ll say that. He coaches, but he also treats us like we’re his kids and keeps us together.”
Like Lara, Cipriano doesn’t look towards awards and plaques, does acknowledge that putting your head down and doing his job will naturally bring them.
“Things like that aren’t thing’s you’re trying to get, but if you do your job and are successful they will take care of themselves,” Cipriano said. “I just try to do the best for my team and my goal is to be the last team standing in the Valley every year. We fell short of that this year, but we want to prove that this team can compete with the top schools in the Valley.”
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Bradford, Martinez, Ortega showed mettle this season
Harlingen South senior forward Luke Bradford is a player of few words, but when it comes to offensive production and on-court recognitions, that’s another story.
This season, Bradford was once again South’s go-to player, averaging 22.1 points per game and 14.1 rebounds, helping guide the Hawks to a second-place finish in a very tough District 32-6A.
He was the district’s offensive player of the year and was selected to the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches Class 6A All-Region team for the second consecutive year, earning him the Valley Morning Star’s All-STAR offensive player of the year.
For Bradford, he gives credit to his team for helping him to his most recent accolade, which he considers a bittersweet one.
“It’s an honor to be recognized with this award for this area,” Bradford said. “My team gave me the ball and helped me out a lot along the way. Still, I feel the season could have gone a lot better after being out of the playoffs in the first round.”
Bradford’s size and ability to shoot from the outside made him a dual threat on the court, causing nightmare matchups for opposing defenses.
For that reason and more, South head coach Brian Molina feels Bradford’s contributions to the program will not be forgotten.
“Luke is a special player,” Molina said. “His ability to shoot the three and post up made him difficult to defend. He averaged 20 points a game despite teams trying to set their defenses up to stop him. Watching Luke Bradford mature as a player and a leader has been an honor and he, without a doubt, has left his mark on the Harlingen South basketball program.”
MARTINEZ LOCKS DOWN TOP DEFENSIVE PLAYER HONORS: Los Fresnos’ Hugo Martinez, Harlingen’s Elijah Rhodes, San Benito’s Mario Aguirre, those are just some of District 32-6A’s top players and the list of defensive assignments for Harlingen South’s Jason Martinez throughout the year.
Martinez didn’t post big numbers on the stat sheet, averaging 7.1 points, 5 rebounds and 4.3 rebounds per game.
But as the Harlingen South defensive captain, he was assigned to guard every opponents top scorer no matter the position and did so with success on his way to second team All-District honors and the Valley Morning Star All-STAR defensive Player of the Year.
“Jason is the true definition of a stopper,” Harlingen South head coach Brian Molina said. “In my opinion he was the best defender in the district this year. He drew the assignment of defending the other team’s best player and took pride in getting stops and playing harder than his opponent.”
While tough, the lock-down senior enjoyed the experience, even if every thing didn’t go his way.
“I liked it,” Martinez said of his nightly defensive assignments. “Coach put the assignments and I accepted the challenge. They were all so good and I loved the competition level; it was fun. You have to have to have a short memory on defense as well. They’re great players who will get a few plays on you, you just have to let it go and move on to the next possession.”
ORTEGA COMES ON LATE FOR CARDS: Harlingen junior Reece Ortega arrived in Harlingen, not new to varsity ball, but new to his role as a reserve.
He eventually found his footing and role in the Cards’ rotation, helping the Cards to the postseason and locking up the Valley Morning Star’s All-STAR Newcomer of the Year.
Ortega previously played at Rio Hondo, but jumping to 6A presented a tough hurdle.
Ortega averaged 5.5 points per game, but averaged near double digits during the second half of district play after settling down and taking in and some quality coaching.
“All the coaches really pushed me to my full potential,” Ortega said. “Sometimes I felt I tried too much to produce and contribute to the game. The coaches would pull me out and told me to relax; it was a really great coaching staff.”
All in all, Ortega was glad to take in this season’s growing experience.
“Coming to a bigger school, there is more exposure, bigger teams and more experience,” Ortega said. “It was a good experience coming in and trying to find my role and fit in to a new team. I just wanted to find a way to contribute and help get my team the win every night.”
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VMS All-STAR team
1st Team
AB Lozoya, sophomore guard, Santa Rosa (11.3 points per game, 4.0 steals per game, 5.4 assists per game, TABC Class 3A All-Region selection, District 32-3A first-team selection)
Isaiah Martinez, senior, guard, La Feria (16.9 points per game, 3.4 steals per game, 3.9 assists per game, District 32-4A MVP)
Elijah Rhodes, senior, forward, Harlingen (12.7 points per game, 6.8 rebounds per game, 2.1 steals per game, District 32-6A first-team selection)
Marco Carreon, senior, post, Santa Maria (15.9 points per game, 7.2 rebounds per game, District 32-2A Offensive Player of the Year)
Daniel Suarez, senior post, San Perlita (18.4 points per game, 14.0 rebound per game, 2.0 blocks per game, District 32-2A MVP)
2nd Team
Ernie Ramirez, senior guard, Harlingen High (11.6 ppg, 3.0 spg)
Mario Aguirre, senior guard, San Benito (18.2 ppg, 2.1 spg, 32-6A First-Team selection)
Jalen Morrell, senior forward, La Feria (13.9 ppg, 2.2 spg, 32-4A Defensive Player of the Year)
Juan Cerrillo, senior post, Harlingen (11.9 ppg, 11.9 rpg, 32-6A First-Team selection)
Matt Garcia, junior post, Santa Rosa (12.0 ppg, 11.7 rpg, 32-3A Defensive Player of the Year)
Honorable mention
Darren Perez, senior guard, Harlingen South
Jesus Gomez, senior post, Santa Maria
Robert Cavazos, senior guard, San Perlita
Hector Garza, senior forward, Rio Hondo
Spanky Cortez, junior guard, Lyford