Winning the CIF Southern Section Division V-AA championship in March put a bit of pressure on the St. Joseph girls’ basketball team at the start of this season.
Not that the tension has made a difference. With a 4-0 record already, coach Ed Torres and his girls must be doing something right.
The early wins have helped take some of that pressure off, Torres said, but he’s not letting the success distract them.
“I tell them it doesn’t matter what you’re ranked at the beginning of the season, only what you’re ranked at the end.
“But,” he added with a smile, “it does help some.”
Torres—whose day job sees him working as a probation officer for Santa Barbara County—has been coaching basketball since 1986. He’s spent the last 14 years coaching boys’ basketball at St. Joe’s.
When asked about his coaching strategy, Torres said it’s “not just all x’s and o’s.”
“Eighty percent of coaching is the mental approach and playing as a team,” he said. “The other 20 percent is technical.”
He does have a few x’s and o’s up his sleeve, though.
“We’ve gone to more man-to-man defense versus a zone defense,” he explained. “Offensively, we’ve gone to what we call a ‘one post versus two post’ offense. We’re trying to create more spacing so the other teams can’t double team Allison Bebe as easily.”
Talking with Bebe, it’s hard to imagine that even double teaming her would have much effect. The 6-foot-1 sophomore—wearing a big grin—was excited about the current season when she spoke with the Sun. Her grin got even bigger when she was asked about her favorite part of the game.
“I love stunning opponents,” she said. “I love making a really good move that makes them say, ‘Whoa, what was that?’”
Bebe, who has been playing basketball since she was in first grade, said her strategy when she hits the court is to “focus on her playing.”
“When I get out there, I’m playing without thinking,” she explained. “It’s instinctual.”
Helping her out is Analise Riezboz, who had to sit out most of last season due to a knee injury. Since then, however, she’s hit the ground running.
“When I got back on the court, my face was bright red from laughing,” Riezboz said. “When I made my first score, I was smiling so big.”
For her, as with the other Lady Knights, playing the game is all about the team.
“We’re strongest when we’re together,” Riezboz said. “We all have so much fun together, there’s great team chemistry. We work hard together.”
Senior Tiffany Kinson is returning after a year’s hiatus from basketball. She spent last year focusing on track and field.
“I just needed a break from basketball,” she said. “I definably got in shape training [for track] for a year, and I came back with a fresh view.”
Kinson sees herself as “definitely defense-minded.”
“I kinda like intimidating players on the other team when I’m on defense. That, and fast breaks,” she said. “I like fast-paced games—don’t really like setting up offense plays.”
She shrugged with a grin: “I like to run,” she summed up.
Coach Torres agreed with Riezboz about the team’s chemistry, noting the high caliber of players on his team.
“The one thing that’s constant is the hard-working, dedicated, talented student athletes in the program,” he said. “Whatever offensive or defensive philosophy we would have, the program would be successful due to the type of players in the program.”
In fact, the coaching philosophy for the Lady Knights has changed this year. This is Torres’ first season coaching the St. Joseph girls. Former coach Ron Barba was ousted at the end of last season, even after compiling a 115-23 record over five years.
“It’s unfortunate [Barba’s ouster] happened,” Torres said. “I wasn’t privy to all the details … but obviously he’s a very successful coach. Maybe sometimes some things just don’t work out because of the … they just doesn’t mix right. At same time, we’ve made a conscious effort to put that behind the team. That was last year, this is this year. It’s a very difficult situation for all involved, but we have to move on.”
If the early start to their season is any indication, the Lady Knights are well on their way to another fantastic season. Coach Torres has a motto echoed by all the young women the Sun spoke with: “It’s not how good you were, it’s not how good you are, it’s how good you can be.”
“We take one game at a time,” said senior Tiffany Kinson, voicing the team’s sentiment. “We don’t look for it.”
Staff Writer Nicholas Walter takes one story at a time. Contact him at nwalter@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Dec 24-31, 2009.