Photo by Steven St. JohnTribune

Tribune

Valley girls head coach Richard Harbin watches his team run drills with sophomore Ashley Martinez. A scrapper when he played, Harbin has infused his players with a defense-first mind-set. "We all love defense," said Korina Chapman, one of the Vikings' seven sophomores. "There's not a single girl on this team that does not love defense. I guess we were just taught defense comes first."

Photo by Steven St. JohnTribune

Tribune

Valley sophomore forward Korina Chapman sets her feet before shooting a free throw in practice. Chapman, a 6-foot post who is the Vikings' leading scorer and rebounder, missed the latter half of the season because of a fracture in her knee.

More Pro Sports

• Tennis: Roddick hammers Japanese star
• MLB: Phillies' Howard wins big in arbitration
• NFL: Lewis takes Browns' contract deal

MOST RECENT TRIB STORIES

• ABQTrib.com to remain available
  08:48 a.m., February 25, 2008
• Congressman is indicted
  08:37 a.m., February 23, 2008
• Series of attacks target Green Zone
  08:36 a.m., February 23, 2008
• Iran is defying U.N., agency says
  08:35 a.m., February 23, 2008
• Waterboarding approval probed
  08:34 a.m., February 23, 2008

TRIB IN THE BLOGOSPHERE*

• Ty Murray Invitational thrills fans in Albuquerque
• Is Rome Burning?
• Ominous Skies
• The Road to Invalidation
• Albuquerque company participates in “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition”

*Note: The Tribune does not create and is not responsible for the blogosphere's headlines and stories. These links to blogs talking about ABQTrib.com are automatically generated. Use them at your own risk.

STORY TOOLS

• E-mail story
• Comments
• iPod friendly
• Printer friendly

SHARE THIS STORY [?]

It has helped the Valley Vikings beat basketball state tournament fixtures Gallup and Rio Rancho.

It also has helped get a player sent out of a recent practice.

It is maturity. It is the X factor for talented but green teams, such as Valley.

"That's our thing," Vikings girls coach Rich Harbin said. "How mature are we going to be this year? If we play mature in games, like we did against Gallup, man, we have an opportunity to beat anybody in the state. If we get away from that, anybody in the state can beat us."

Unbeatable they are not. But Harbin doesn't blink when he says this season's Vikings should be able to compete with District 2-5A power brokers La Cueva and Sandia.

Harbin paused to pass a ball to one of his players as the team prepared for the APS Tournament, which starts tonight around the city.

He continued: "In years past, I don't think I could say that."

No, not quite.

And that wasn't simply because Sandia and La Cueva have boasted two of the metro area's most consistently competitive programs the past few years.

Before Harbin took over the program four years ago, Valley hadn't produced a winning season in 13 years.

Now the Vikings are going for their second winning season since 2004-05.

It starts with the word printed across the Vikings' practice shorts: defense - and that began with a perfect storm.

As a high school player himself at Del Norte, Harbin never let an opportunity for a floor burn pass him by. Defense always excited him.

Having been a teacher at Valley for the past 21 years, Harbin knew the typical Vikings girls basketball player was small and quick. When he took the girls head coaching job, Harbin knew a chaotic, smell-what-the-opponent-had-for-breakfast kind of defense would fit.

Luckily for Harbin, the girls didn't mind.

"We all love defense," said Korina Chapman, one of Valley's seven sophomores. "There's not a single girl on this team that does not love defense. I guess we were just taught defense comes first."

The result? Through three games the undefeated Vikings are squeezing opponents with their trapping, zone or man-to-man scheme. Valley allows 36.3 points per game.

With so much youth on his roster - there are only three seniors - Harbin looks forward to sharpening the Vikings' defensive prowess.

"My challenge is to get these kids to be real dynamic," Harbin said. "This is how scary it could get for these kids, and they're smart: If we could designate a 3-point shot as a run-and-jump man press, then anything inside the arc is a 2-2-1."

Harbin continued, his words flying faster: "Or we could designate it if, someone scores - say Korina scores - run-and-jump. If anyone else scores we're in a 2-2-1. Really changing on the fly, that's the kind of stuff that can really keep teams off balance.

"We take baby steps, definitely."

The development might have come in small increments, but players each noticed signs within the past nine months that this could be a breakout season for Valley.

Chapman, a 6-foot post who is the Vikings' leading scorer and rebounder, saw it from the bench near the end of last year. She missed the latter half of the season because of a fracture in her knee.

"It was just the way we all came together at the end of the year," she said. "I just knew it was going to carry over."

Angel Reyes, a sophomore shooting guard who averaged 12 points in the Gallup and Rio Rancho wins, heard it in the conversations he had with teammates during the summer. There was just a feeling.

Point guard Ashley Martinez witnessed it at tryouts.

"Everybody was talking constantly," said Martinez, another sophomore. "We were cheering each other on. We made each other feel comfortable. When we made mistakes, everybody pointed them out so we could learn off each other. . . . There's more communication this year. More heart. We work together better."

As long as the maturity stays high, Valley's breakout season should continue.