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Thursday, June 19, 2008

Moriarty Junior 'Doesn't Know How Good She Is'

By Harold Smith
Mountain View Telegraph
      Moriarty High's Brandi Nicole Valencia is one of the two Mountain View Telegraph 2007-08 female prep co-athletes of the year.
    Brandi and her sister, Kristin, both 5-foot-9 juniors, share this year's recognition.
    Brandi was a key element in the Lady Pintos volleyball team's earning the District 5-4A tournament title and the Class 4A crown after sailing through the state tourney with nary a game loss in any of their matches. She also paced the Moriarty girls basketball team, along with her sister, in scoring and rebounding, all the way to the state semifinals for a school-record 24 victories in one season.
    Often the twins' kills and points-production numbers in matches and games were nearly identical.
    The Valencia siblings were a team within a team. They were as successful as they were because they fed off each other, assisted each other and kept the defense from focusing on one or the other.
    Brandi, 17, has received a boatload of accolades since she began starting on varsity as a freshman. This school year, she was selected for the Class 4A all-state first teams and the all-District 5-4A squads in both basketball and volleyball, and she made the all-metro first team in volleyball.
    “But the most important thing about (Brandi and Kristin) is they are better people than they are basketball players,” Pintos girls basketball coach Joe Bailey said last year. “Some of the time, with good athletes, you get some baggage, some attitude along with the talent. You don't get any of that with them.”
    The two are different in personality and style. Brandi tends to accentuate what she believes are her deficiencies.
    “My parents say I need to be more aggressive,” she said. “And I need to work on my shot. If I shoot more this summer, it'll be better next season.”
    Robert Sanchez, Brandi's New Mexico Heat basketball club coach, has some insight on Brandi's attributes and future potential.
    Basketball is probably the sport Brandi will play in college, with multiple institutions —several Mountain West Conference schools, including New Mexico, and a couple of PAC-10 programs — showing interest in her, according to Sanchez.
    “Brandi, she's an explosive offensive player,” Sanchez said in a recent telephone interview. “She doesn't know how good she is. She could go out and get 50 points a game. She's got the perfect body for a 2-guard. She's got jumping ability. She's got the whole package.”
    Brandi also is a standout defender and is the ultimate team player, which is why Lobo women's coach Don Flanagan would be interested, Sanchez said.
    “But we want to keep our options open,” Brandi said. “I'd like to stay here because I think it'd be fun. But if you go somewhere else, you can get a fresh start. I do think we're going to stay together,” she says of herself and Kristin. “We're close.”
   

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