King City boys basketball

King City (5-18, 5-9)
 No one had a more horrific start to the season last year than the Mustangs, who dropped their first 12 games.
 It wasn't that King City was not competitive, losing a pair of games by two points or less, and two more by five points. It just didn't know how to finish.
 In part because graduation gutted a 16 win team from the previous year, including the Mustangs four leading scorers.
 A reason to believe things will be different this winter starts with the fact that its leading scorer from last season and all-time 3-point leader are both back.
 Andy Barrios showed flashes last year with his offense while Cedrick Perez earned all-league honors after becoming the school's all-time leader in 3-point goals.
 Both seniors will force teams to come out and defend on the perimeter. Adding experience for King City, not to mention a presence in the paint is senior center Isidro Cabrera.
 King City showed improvement as the year progressed, as evident by them running off four straight Mission Trail Athletic League wins to temporally get back in the playoff chase.
 It's that momentum that head coach Jesus Ramirez hopes to build off of with this core, most of which are back from last year.
 The Mustangs were an early season surprise in the preseason, jumping out to a 4-2 start.
 Defensively the Mustangs gave up 68 or more points just once last year -- in the season finale. Their struggles were offensively, failing to score 50 or more points 13 times.
 The return of Andres Arellano and Hiren Parmar give the Mustangs two more scoring options on the floor.
 For King City to return to the playoffs after a one year absence, it has to move the ball around the floor and create shots for Barrios and Petty. Pushing the pace only works if you take care of the ball.