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WESLACO — The game plan for Weslaco High’s senior backcourt of Andrew Olmeda and Leonard Smith was simple.
“Every game, we go out there looking to make hell for our opponents,” Smith said.
The Panthers’ lead guards of Olmeda and Smith, standing 5 feet, 11 inches and 6 feet, 2 inches, respectively, spearheaded one of the top defensive teams in the Rio Grande Valley. Weslaco’s backcourt was relentless defensively from opening tip to the final buzzer.
After helping lead the Panthers to their second straight District 32-6A championship and into the Region IV-6A area round of the playoffs, Olmeda and Smith are The Monitor’s 2021-22 All-Area Boys Basketball Co-Defensive Players of the Year.
“Since middle school, I’ve been battling it out with Leonard, so it feels good to go out like this,” Olmeda said.
“This dude’s my dog. We’ve been through it all and to close out our senior year like this, it’s something I’ll remember for the rest of my life,” Smith said.
The duo served as team captains for the Panthers and helped the program win its 10th district title in the past 15 years. Weslaco finished the regular season 26-11 overall and 12-2 in district play.
Their road to a second consecutive District 32-6A crown was paved by lockdown defensive play. The Panthers limited 11 of their 14 district opponents to below 50 points.
“Basically, 1-5 on our team, we were able to lock up anybody. I felt like we were more of a defensive team and we were able to lock up any team,” Olmeda said.
The two are the latest in a line of dynamic guards under Weslaco High head coach Gabe Valdez. Olmeda and Smith credited their coach for placing an emphasis on energy, effort and execution on the defensive end of the floor. It often resulted in easy offense on the other end.
“He never asked about offense, he would ask, ‘How many rebounds did you get?’ He wanted to see the dirty work,” Olmeda said.
“He always brought the best out of us every day. He taught us a lot and is a really great coach,” said Smith. “Playing here for three years, we had a really great tradition and I just wanted to show out as a team because basketball means a lot to us as a family, and I think that’s what we did.”
