For four years, Brownsville Pace point guard Cristian Guajardo helped lead the Vikings to District 32-5A titles, a couple of playoff victories and scored more than 2,000 career points.
This season, Guajardo averaged 17.3 points per game. He scored 675 points, had 145 assists and added 75 steals as the Vikings went undefeated in District 32-5A and won a first-round meeting against McAllen Rowe.
Guajardo is The Brownsville Herald’s 2021-22 All-Metro Boys Basketball Most Valuable Player.
“It was a blessing when I found out about that,” he said. “Over these years, since coming in as a freshman, I have big goals for myself. I know I was always recognized as a good player, but I do not think I garnered the respect of an MVP.
“The years of dedication and perseverance, knowing that I had what it took to compete against the top guys in the Valley and more, it allowed for me to build a sense of confidence that showed through my game.”
Vikings coach Jose Ramirez said Guajardo’s impact has been felt since his freshman year. Ramirez called Guajardo a silent leader as a freshman, but he grew into a vocal leader as time went on. Guajardo even had team members changing their diets, Ramirez said.
“He led us by his work ethic,” Ramirez said. “Little by little, no candies, no chips, everything was water and healthy eating, and you saw a transformation of the team. It was influence that he had on actions.”
Ramirez said the vocal aspect of Guajardo’s leadership came during his junior year. Guajardo began vocalizing his expectations of the team.
“That kind of leadership is invaluable because it is like having another coach on the court,” Ramirez said. “It is easy to lead when you are up by 20, but when you are down that is when your leadership skills really matter, and he helped us come back from a lot of games this year.”
One of those games was the playoff victory over Rowe. Pace was down big to the Warriors early, but Guajardo turned it on, helping lead the charge back. He collected 25 points, four assists and three steals that night.
“I just try and be the person that my team needs me in that situation,” he said. “If the team needs me to pick up my defense, score or find my teammates, I try and find what the team is lacking and give my full effort into that situation.”
Guajardo is heading next to Schreiner University, where he will continue playing basketball.
Offensive Player of the Year
Gerry Martinez, Brownsville St. Joseph
Martinez is regarded as one of, if not the best, basketball player in the Rio Grande Valley, and for good reason.
“This was my best offensive season by far,” the junior guard said. “I shot the ball way better, especially my 3-point percentage. I think offensively I was great this year, definitely my best year.”
Martinez averaged 24.6 point per game this season, scoring a total of 837 points and providing 100 assists to teammates to make him the offensive player of the year.
“I definitely would not be able to do this without my teammates,” he said. “Josh, Lou, Martin and Bernie, all of those guys. From the starters to the scout team. The starters get all of the recognition, but behind the scenes it is really those guys that made it possible for us.”
St. Joseph only plays eight district games in TAPPS 5A District 4. Because of the smaller district, the Bloodhounds had a robust non-district season, playing and beating some of the best teams in the Valley, capturing two tournament titles.
Against Weslaco High, the District 32-6A champion, Martinez scored 26 points. In the BISD championship game against Pace, Martinez dropped 33 points on 61 percent shooting, bouncing back from a poor first game against the Vikings.
“Every night he can go for 30-plus, so that was definitely an advantage for us,”
Bloodhounds coach Sam Lucio said. “Since he is such a great scorer, he opens up the court for the rest of his teammates. He took the next step to be a better playmaker and get everyone involved, making everyone around him better.”
Lucio and Martinez are excited for next season.
“We bring back Gerry and some other big pieces,” Lucio said. “We are also expecting some of the younger guys to step into some big roles next season. We are super excited for our team next season.”
Martinez is ready to go all out next season. The future senior is close to breaking 2,000 points, but he hopes to eclipse the 3,000-point mark.
“I have played ball my whole life,” he said. “This is a year that you look forward to your whole life, your senior year. Just knowing that you are going to be at the top of your game, hopefully, no injuries happen. I am going to have a great year.”
Defensive Player of the Year
Charles Thirlwall, Brownsville Hanna
It is back-to-back defensive player of the year awards for Thirlwall.
“It feels great to get it back-to-back,” the District 32-6A co-defender of the year said. “It is a good mark. I do not think many people have done that in Brownsville or in Hanna history. It is really a great accomplishment.”
The senior averaged two steals per game, one block per game and grabbed eight rebounds this past season.
“Defense is a major key in 32-6A,” Thirlwall said. “You have teams like Los Fresnos and the Harlingen schools that can go on runs in two minutes, and a 16-point swing will happen. You just got to have your 10 toes down, be ready to take it on the chin and stop that.”
In district play, the Eagles gave up 46.6 points per game, keeping them in most games they played and helping them reach the playoffs. Some nights in 32-6A it came down to making a stop on defense. Hanna was involved in six games decided by six points or less in district play.
“Charles was the main component of every defense we played this past season,” Hanna coach Fermin Lucio said. “In our press, man and zone, he was a major piece of our success on defense. He brought the energy on defense that allowed us to be successful as a program.”
Thirlwall was happy about making the playoffs his senior year but said the team could have done better. He also was happy about his impact, especially defensively.
“I just want to thank the people that actually supported me and thank the people that did not, because that fueled me, too, and brought me to where I am today,” he said.
Co-Newcomers of the Year
Christian and Cleveland Smith, Port Isabel
The freshman twins provided a spark off the bench and are a great foundation for Port Isabel to build on. They are the co-newcomers of the year.
“It feels good, I just hope I can do more than that and achieve more than that,” Cleveland Smith said. “Hopefully offensive player of the year or something like that.”
The twins had a big impact early in the season. The Tarpons’ football season cut into the basketball season. Key starting guards like Gilbert Medina and Daniel Zamarron were working their way back on the court. It was important for the Smiths to step up.
“It feels great getting an award for this season,” Christian Smith said. “Playing varsity was not something I expected but was expecting at the same time. I liked playing on varsity. I would get nervous, but everybody gets nervous playing a game.”
Tarpons coach Gilbert Rodriguez saw the pair in middle school and knew it had potential.
“I did not know, for varsity, how they would be able to handle it,” Rodriguez said. “Once I saw them scrimmaging against our varsity guys, I knew these guys could help us.”
The twins qualified for the cross country regional meet, so they entered basketball in great shape. They were a great benefit to have on the bench, and in practice, they pushed the key starters.
“They were able to hold their own,” Rodriguez said. “There was some games where they played a lot of minutes and had vital roles, when people fouled out and were not playing well. They really stepped in without any dropoff in talent.”
Cleveland Smith received District 32-4A honorable mention this season. Both were awarded all-district academic honors.
Coach of the Year
Jose Ramirez, Brownsville Pace
The Vikings went 34-5 overall with a 14-0 District 32-5A title-winning season, led by Ramirez.
“We have had some championships, and nine playoff years in a row,” Ramirez said. “Obviously, that is not necessarily me, it is my assistants, our principal, the athletic coordinator that support basketball. It is the kids that flew through, the kids that were willing to put in the work and grind it out.”
The Vikings outscored their district opponents by an average of 24 points per game. Offensively, Pace spread out teams and sank its shots, averaging 69.5 points per game. The offensive system forced teams to be perfect when they had the ball, and most teams could not. Teams only averaged 45 points per game against the Vikings during district play.
“If you are one of those basketball coaches that think basketball is only four months, it is not,” Ramirez said. “It is hard to expect success from your kids if you are not willing to let them grow. Definitely proud of what we had accomplished, but as a competitor you always want more.”
Ramirez is looking to build on this season and is grateful for the memories built from this season.
“I have had time to reflect about what these kids accomplished and what they mean in my life,” he said. “Hopefully they take something that they picked up here that could serve them for the rest of their lives.”
The Brownsville Herald’s 2021-22 All-Metro Boys Basketball Team
Superlatives
Most Valuable Player
Cristian Guajardo, Brownsville Pace
Offensive Player of the Year
Gerry Martinez, Brownsville St. Joseph
Defensive Player of the Year
Charles Thirlwall, Brownsville Hanna
Co-Newcomer of the Year
Christian Smith and Cleveland Smith, Port Isabel
Coach of the Year
Jose Ramirez, Brownsville Pace
First team
Josh Cisneros, Brownsville St. Joseph
Elias Fortaneli, Brownsville Pace
Ramsey Rocha, Brownsville Rivera
JJ Salazar, Los Fresnos
Daniel Zamarron, Port Isabel
