Harlingen High’s Hinojosa signs to hoop it up with Hawks
BY EDWARD SEVERN
STAFF WRITER
HARLINGEN — Harlingen High standout basketball player Avery Hinojosa agreed to join Howard College’s basketball team Wednesday.
“It feels great,” Hinojosa said. “All of the hard work from all of my family, coaches and team paid off, and now I got a full scholarship to Howard.”
The school located in Big Spring, between Abilene and Odessa, will be home to District 32-6A’s Co-MVP for the next couple of years. Hinojosa is excited to be part of a program that often moves players to bigger schools.
“If my stats are good for a year or two, I can transfer,” Hinojosa said. “The coach said he has a good program and Division I schools look at his school.”
Howard College boasts a long list of former players on its website that moved on to four-year universities.
Hinojosa was recruited by Howard College after impressing at Rio Sports Live’s South Padre Island showcase and recently at a TABC all-star game in San Antonio.
The future Hawk was an electric point guard during her time as a Cardinal. Hinojosa averaged 17.3 points and 3.6 steals per game during her senior season.
Hinojosa helped lead her team to a share of the district title and a third-round finish in the playoffs. She was money from long range and was pivotal in Harlingen’s half-court press. The Cardinals’ point guard routinely turned steals from the press into easy buckets.
The senior is aware of the challenges in college sports and expects the difference in the size and speed of the athletes and of the game.
“I just have to give it my all,” she said.
Hinojosa is thankful for her time at Harlingen.
“I am going to be a Hawk now and not a Cardinal,” she said with a laugh. “I am proud and glad to see what the future has for me, and how their program will help me. I want to thank my family, coaches and everyone that supported me throughout my career.”
Hinojosa, an academic all-state athlete, plans on gearing her studies toward a career in physical therapy while in college.
