30-5A

Edinburg Basketball

The McAllen Bulldogs are off and running this year with nine wins in 11 games after a 21-point victory at Edinburg North Tuesday. Senior J.J. Avila had 16 rebounds and seven assists against the Coogs, as his perimeter skills were on full display. Six-five Ryan Evans is poised for a breakout year, as he receives great passes from Avila off the double team.

The barometer of the unit this year will be flashy Nevin Franks, who inherited the leadership at the point with the graduation of superstar Cory Pace, now playing in college.

Against North, The Mac moved the ball expertly on the perimeter and attacked the basket at times. The Bulldogs will be more methodical than last year, it seems, with Avila prepping for the next level by playing at the 3 quite a bit. If the tall and deep bench comes through with some quality minutes for Coach Roy Swift, this is once again the team to beat in 30-5A and beyond.

As good as McAllen is sure to be, the Rowe Warriors also have a super club this year and those matches against the Bulldogs are going to be fun to watch.

Coach Jose Yebra has a lot of talent in 2009-10, starting with veteran Raul Villarreal, who made four three-pointers in a win against Los Fresnos and scored 20 versus Porter. Josh Torralba has been excellent so far, with a season high of 27 against Pace, including five 3s. The Warriors can stick it from outside and they have rugged customers inside, with Terrell Thomas leading the way. Toss in live-legged football kids Josh Gatling and Jon Bimpong, and Yebra can boast one of the most athletic teams in the Valley.

Another Upper Valley group with a definite shot this season is Sharyland, which has a seasoned unit of overachievers who seem to rise to the occasion in the big games. Jared Denton and Trevor Marlar are set to battle for a playoff spot with Fred Ramos and other notables such as Cary Bodner back to provide depth.

Over at Memorial, the Mustangs have a solid pair in Joel Renteria and Sam Wahdwani, while La Joya got a 31-point effort against EHS from Ricky Gonzalez early in the season. Rio Grande City might be a spoiler at times, led by high scorer Randy Pena.

31-5A

Edinburg has already run a gauntlet of tough teams, starting with the Instant Classic it played against Santa Rosa to start the year. That triple-OT thriller was fantastic from start to finish, with the Warriors scoring a 90-88 upset despite 31 points from standout junior point guard Aaron Olvera. EHS beat La Joya and Hanna leading up to the Craig Smith Tournament this weekend, and has a deep group for second-year coach Zeke Cuellar.

The advent of leader Stevie Guerrero from football will help solidify the drive, as will the return of injured sharpshooter Phillip de la Rosa. For now, Olvera is carrying the load along with 6-3 junior Marquis Holiday, with important contributions from Cord Arriola, whose brother Estevan was a Bobcat star who has made it at the next level, for Texas A&M-Commerce.

That strong junior class will carry the ‘Cats a ways this year, and they appear to the favorite to win a fourth 31-5A title in a row.

That is, unless Pharr North can challenge them, and with a new star on the horizon, hard-nosed coach Jaime Gongora likes his chances. As soon as we got used to life without Neo Sanchez, along comes Ito Valdez. Neo…Ito…Ito…Neo. The newcomer exploded for 38 points in a recent game against Rio, and also notched 23 versus Roma. The Raiders are always aggressive and as the season develops, should be one of the teams to beat in that league.

Another hopeful is Harlingen South, one of the loop’s most consistent winners the past several years. The Hawks lost a close one to Shary early on despite 23 points from returning vet Rico Herrera, and are always well-coached and sharp in the fundamentals.

The other Edinburg schools are gunning for the playoffs in 2009-10 and might just get there. North, even with the loss to The Mac, has charged out of the gate with a winning mark, led by athletic junior Jared Weems, who is long and lean with a lot of athleticism.

Meanwhile, Economedes appears ready to climb out of the cellar and into the race, as Coach Lalo Rios has a basketball-savvy bunch with some size; the Jags can shoot the ball well, and got a 26-point outing from John Barrientes in a 12-point win at Lyford Tuesday. Rios says that for the first time in his four years at the school, the Jags are competitive, with a bunch that has concentrated 100 percent on basketball and seems poised to be the surprise team of the year.

This district is flat nasty.

32-5A

Another year, another dangerous Hanna club under legendary coach Don Denson. With football star Anthony Garza (23 points in a win last week) and a slew of hustling scrappers, the Eagles have been fast out of the gate, with four wins in six starts. They battled McAllen to within seven and did the same with Edinburg, so their two losses have come against quality quintets. Mario Castaneda (17 against Mission) joins Garza in the lineup.

Porter was off to a good roll in November with a 4-1 record, suffered a pair of losses, but rebounded to take out Memorial 69-56 recently. Felix Munoz, Hector Garza (24 vs. Weslaco East), Erick Guerra, and Rudy Melchior form a formidable group for the Cowboys this time around.

After a number of successful years, the Weslaco Panthers under Gabe Valdez seem to be right in the thick of things again, led by Julius Marquez, Rodrigo Verduzco, Garrison Lackey (yes, that Lackey clan) and Raul Garcia, among others. They were this close to upsetting The Mac in the game of the year in last year’s playoffs, and despite losing Eddie Cantu and Marcus Cabrera will be heard from before it’s all said and done.

Do not discount Roy Garcia’s San Benito squad this year, because it could end up with a league title from 32-5A. Chris Preciado is hard to stop and he leads a high-flying team that will get in your face on defense. Preciado skied for 26 points as the ‘Hounds defeated Memorial and 20 in a win over E-E, while Marcos De los Santos and Oscar Gonzalez are experienced hands on deck. This is a potentially fine San Benny five.

32-4A

Though it will be a dogfight as always in 32-4A, look for Mission Vets to rule the roost if all goes as planned. In senior Ben Gonzalez, the Patriots have a bona fide Player of the Year candidate who can do it all. He had 30 points with eight bombs against Palmview then 29 in a win over Lopez, following that up with 32 (seven treys) as the Pats beat P-SJ-A Memorial. Add in big man Kent Warren, who has been very promising so far, and Coach Romeo De la Garza has one salty crew.

The jury is still out on a Roma program that is usually among the area’s best; the Gladiators lost a bunch of quality kids to graduation but managed an early win over Pharr North thanks to 23 from John Gomez and 21 from Hector Hinojosa. Roma has been blessed with great size the past few years, and its battles with Vets will be definite must-see basketball.

The rest of the pack in the 4A league is progressing, with questions left to be answered as the tourney season kicks into high gear. Certainly Mercedes is going to be heard from, with star Albert Chavez in the fold.

LOWER LEVELS

Progreso’s Gabe Munoz turned in one of the top performances of the young season last week with a 33-point gem against La Villa. Hidalgo looks tough so far, with Fabian Nino, Hugo Garcia, and bruising football stud Gino Quiroz holding court. La Feria hopes to nail down a playoff spot paced by Aaron Villalon and Justin Gonzalez, who combined for 45 points against Valley View.

Santa Rosa, fresh off a state final four appearance, was fast to begin but ran into some resistance at the Keillor Classic, dropping three games by a total of 15 points, all against 5A comp. The Warriors have had some injury problems lately, but they also have first-class talent in Dario Mendoza, Mark Cordero, and Aaron Ramirez, among others. Once they get healthy, look out below, 32-2A!