DANVILLE — Austin Howard really wasn’t given a choice leading into this season.
The Parkland men’s basketball sophomore guard was going to lead the Cobras. Had to.
Howard was one of two returning players for coach Anthony Figueroa. He was also the only one — sophomore forward and Paris native Jessy Cantinol being the other — who spoke fluent English.
“He didn’t really have a choice,” Figueroa said. “He had to step up, and we made that clear to him at the end of last year that our expectation was that he would come back — even though he wasn’t maybe a centerpiece last year — that he would have to lead returning this year.