BASKETBALL AWARDS

J.J. Cervantes’ junior year of high school basketball ended with a little love from the Rams faithful.
Cervantes was named the Best Offensive Player and Best Defensive Player in the inaugural KWMC 1490 Ram Basketball Awards presented earlier this month. The awards, which are voted on by the fans, drew more total votes than the radio station’s football awards.
According to Javier Martinez Jr., KWMC sales manager, more than 1,300 votes were cast for the basketball awards, at least 200 more than were cast for football.
Despite sweeping the awards, Cervantes said the nomination was a surprise but not unexpected.
“I knew I had worked hard to get there. I made varsity last year, so I knew I had to keep up with it this year,” Cervantes said.
“It’s really nice to see basketball get some love. I know basketball wasn’t the main sport in town, but these awards and the turnout show a lot of people are following us and we players are feeling like we’re getting recognition now for how hard we’ve been working,” Cervantes added.
Cervantes announced his arrival this season with a huge home debut, scoring 29 points, including 16 in the fourth quarter, in a loss to Pleasanton. He was the Rams’ leading scorer on offense and his defensive presence at the post made him a game changer for a team that was more up tempo and not just built for the blocks.
For offensive player of the year, Cervantes was nominated alongside Luis Arteaga, William Proffit and Nick Rivera. For defensive player of the year, Cervantes was nominated with Rivera, Cesar Gavia and Eli Webster.
Cervantes credits his father, Juan Cervantes, for helping him improve throughout the season.
“The big difference for me this year versus last year I think was more listening. I mean, my dad helped me a lot. He would help me work on the things I had trouble with and wanted to improve on. I got a lot of support from my parents, and I’m pretty sure that was the big difference for me,” Cervantes said.
This was a tough year for the Rams. Their season came to a premature end after they were forced to suspend play in January due to high COVID-19 positivity rates in the community. Once they were cleared to return, making up those lost games was too great a task.
Cervantes said he learned that for the team to get better, the players needed to stay in contact and be on the same page. “You’re not a team if you’re not being a team. It doesn’t have to be just basketball to build that team chemistry,” Cervantes said.