MISSION — Andalusia, Alabama, may be a small town located in one of the southernmost counties in the state, but it means the most to All-Valley Sports Awards Banquet keynote speaker Robert Horry.
“When people say, ‘It takes a village to raise a person,’ Andalusia was like a village,” Horry said. “Everybody was a parent. It was great, because it kept a lot of kids in line and out of trouble.”
Horry earned a scholarship to play college basketball at Alabama for legendary head coach Wimp Sanderson.
“Wimp was the type of guy who put the onus on all of his players to perform and be their own leader,” Horry said. “He allowed you to have the maturity and the sense to know when to take care of your teammates and when to take care of yourself.”
Even as the No. 1 scoring option for the Crimson Tide, Horry stepped on campus with intention of earning a degree and becoming a math teacher. Horry’s mindset changed following a season-ending loss in the 1990 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament during his sophomore season.
“One of our guys told me that a magazine had just come out and named me one of the top 10 small forwards in the country,” Horry said. “Most of the guys that make that list are either juniors or seniors and here I was, a sophomore.
“My whole focus just changed. I worked on my game more, cut back on my social life and kept up with my studies, and it worked out.”
Sixteen years in the NBA and seven NBA championships later, Horry has become one of the more recognized role players in league history, known for his penchant of making important shots in critical moments.
“People like to say to me, ‘Well, you didn’t score a lot of points.’ That was because I didn’t have to score a lot, not because I couldn’t,” Horry said. “I filled a void for a lot of teams. I look back on my career and think, ‘I could have been one of those selfish guys,’ but I know if I did, it would mess up the continuity of our team. I had to do what was best for the team.”
Horry was more than happy to offer his experiences to the athletes at the 2017 All-Valley Sports Awards Banquet, hosted by RGVSports.com and AIM Media Texas in conjunction with the RGV Sports Hall of Fame on Saturday night.
“I’m excited to pass on my knowledge to the younger athletes,” Horry said. “A young man asked me for some advice and I told him, ‘When you think you’re working hard, work even harder.’ That doesn’t mean pushing yourself to the brink of death, but just enough to say, ‘I put in some hard work today.’”
The Banquet featured 98 athletes, coaches and teams vying for 32 awards.
Key individual winners include PSJA High’s Trey Guajardo, who captured Class 6A Male Athlete of the Year following a freshman campaign where he played baseball and, most notably, started at quarterback and threw for 1,323 yards and 11 TDs while also running for 1,009 yards and 10 TDs. Class 6A Female Athlete of the Year was Los Fresnos soccer senior Tanya Prazelini, who scored a Valley all-time record 68 goals in 2017.
Sub-Class 6A Female Athlete of the Year honors went to Brownsville Veterans senior basketball player Jordan Rudd, who averaged 14.8 points, 7.1 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 5.2 steals and 1.8 blocks per game this past season. Mission Veterans quarterback Diego Hernandez was named the Sub-Class 6A Male Athlete of the Year after throwing for 4,175 yards and 45 touchdown passes.
2017 All-Valley Awards Banquet
Boys Cross Country Athlete of the Year
>> Daniel De La Cruz, Donna North
Brandon Gracia, Rio Grande City
Tristan Pena, Edinburg North
Girls Cross Country Athlete of the Year
Beth Ramos, Edinburg North
>> Brianna Robles, La Joya Palmview
Tina Sierra, La Feria
Volleyball Player of the Year
>> Jackie Kingsbury, Los Fresnos
Taylor Marburger, McAllen Memorial
Julia Monday, McAllen High
Football Player of the Year
>> Diego Hernandez, Mission Veterans
Roy Pedraza, Weslaco East
Omar Silva, Port Isabel
Girls Basketball Player of the Year
Brianna Pena, Weslaco High
>> Jordan Rudd, Brownsville Veterans
Jayla Santa Maria, Edinburg High
Boys Basketball Player of the Year
Ryan Garza, Edinburg Vela
>> Leo Lara, Santa Rosa
Aaron Villarreal, Brownsville Veterans Memorial
Boys Soccer Player of the Year
Manuel Castrejon, La Joya Juarez-Lincoln
>> Jose Echavarria, Brownsville Lopez
Hugo Guajardo, Progreso
Girls Soccer Player of the Year
Krysta Armstrong, Edinburg Economedes
Anna Hover, McAllen High
>> Tanya Prazelini, Los Fresnos
Boys Tennis Player of the Year
Joaquin Delgado, Sharyland Pioneer
Nick Martinez, Lyford
>> Jack Wang, McAllen Memorial
Girls Tennis Player of the Year
Grace Bell, Harlingen South
>> Chantel Lozano, Roma
Valeria Montero, Harlingen South
Boys Golfer of the Year
James Alfaro, Raymondville
Santiago Garcia, Brownsville Hanna
>> Jun Min Lee, Sharyland High
Girls Golfer of the Year
>> Julie Lucio, Brownsville Veterans
Isabel Prado, La Feria
Laura Rodriguez, Sharyland High
Boys Swimmer of the Year
>> Shaine Casas, McAllen High
Trevor Heath, Sharyland Pioneer
Luis Osuna, Los Fresnos
Girls Swimmer of the Year
Hannah Bradford, McAllen Memorial
>> Maya Athena Imperial, Brownsville Hanna
Ina Te, McAllen Rowe
Boys Track and Field Athlete of the Year
>> Sydney Mock, Port Isabel
Tristan Pena, Edinburg North
Joseph Ian Torres, Port Isabel
Jordan Wilson, Sharyland Pioneer
Girls Track and Field Athlete of the Year
Beth Ramos, Edinburg North
Brianna Robles, La Joya Palmview
Tina Sierra, La Feria
>> Valery Tobias, Edinburg IDEA Quest
Boys Wrestler of the Year
>> Guadalupe Rodriguez, Mission High
Diego Serna, Sharyland Pioneer
Dillion Toavalu, Edinburg North
Girls Wrestler of the Year
Alexis Altamira, Edinburg Vela
>> Amanda Alvarado, McAllen Memorial
Rose Ramirez, La Joya High
Class 6A Female Athlete of the Year
Taylor Marburger, McAllen Memorial
Jaida Muhammad, Edinburg Vela
>> Tanya Prazelini, Los Fresnos
Sub-6A Female Athlete of the Year
Jackie Howell, Mission Veterans
>> Jordan Rudd, Brownsville Veterans
Tina Sierra, La Feria
Class 6A Male Athlete of the Year
Adrian Bernal, McAllen Rowe
>> Trey Guajardo, PSJA High
Tristan Myende, La Joya Palmview
Sub-6A Male Athlete of the Year
>> Diego Hernandez, Mission Veterans
Leo Lara, Santa Rosa
Omar Silva, Port Isabel
Softball Player of the Year
Mia Anzaldua, Brownsville Veterans
>> Audrey Escamilla, Weslaco High
Amber Reyes, Edinburg High
Baseball Player of the Year
Saul Garza, Edinburg North
Noe Guerrero, Brownsville Hanna
>> Noel Vela, Mission Veterans
Class 6A Girls Team of the Year
>> Los Fresnos Soccer
McAllen High soccer
Weslaco High girls basketball
Sub-6A Girls Team of the Year
Brownsville Veterans Memorial basketball
>> Brownsville Veterans Memorial golf
Brownsville Veterans Memorial softball
Class 6A Boys Team of the Year
>> La Joya Juarez-Lincoln soccer
Weslaco East football
Weslaco High basketball
Sub-6A Boys Team of the Year
>> Brownsville Lopez soccer
Progreso soccer
Santa Rosa Basketball
Boys Coach of the Year
>> Johnny Cipriano, Santa Rosa basketball
Amadeo Escandon, Brownsville Lopez soccer
Margarito Jimenez, Progreso soccer
Girls Coach of the Year
Rayner Cardenas, Brownsville Veterans softball
Mario Rodriguez, Weslaco High softball
>> Peter A Rodriguez, Brownsville Rivera soccer
Class 6A Program of the Year
Edinburg Vela
McAllen High
>> Weslaco High
Sub-6A Program of the Year
>> Brownsville Veterans
La Feria
Mission Veterans
