By ANDREW CRUM, Staff Writer
Port Isabel’s Alex Martinez simply likes playing defense.
“I want to be known for (my defense),” she said. “It’s tough, but I like it.”
The junior guard, also a member of the all-District 32-4A first team, scored 9.4 points, had 4.7 rebounds and 5.8 steals per game this season. Each of those numbers went up during district play, to 11.9 points, 4.8 rebounds and 6.2 steals per game.
With her overall play and particular prowess on defense, Martinez has been named The Brownsville Herald’s 2015 All-Metro Defensive Player of the Year.
Even more impressive is that Martinez missed nearly all of last year after suffering a torn ACL in her right knee early in the season.
“She put in a lot of hard work in the offseason to get back to strength,” Port Isabel coach Blake Ramsey said. “At the beginning of the season you could tell she was a little reluctant, a little hesitant. As the games got going on she got more comfortable, and we were able to press a lot more. As she got more comfortable, her speed got quicker. She was able to react like she did two years ago and got a bunch of steals.
“She’s all over the place.”
With the help of Ramsey, Martinez worked her way back to full strength. She admitted she was timid and that it was tough at times, especially getting back on the court early on.
“I was really scared at first that I was going to get hurt again,” Martinez said. “Like something bad was going to happen or I wasn’t going to be the same (player). I worked really hard in practice every day, and I’m hoping I am even better.”
Ramsey is a defensive-minded coach who has engrained that in his team’s mind, working on defensive drills every day in practice. With the pride Martinez takes in her defensive play, her coach couldn’t be happier.
“I think she naturally has that mentality. (When she guards someone) she doesn’t want them to score,” Ramsey said. “To see her doing that and buying into that, it helps develop a team culture of defense. She’s the team’s second-leading scorer, and a lot of her points come from her steals.”
With Martinez and the rest of the team working to become better defensively this season, the Lady Tarpons earned a postseason berth.
“Even when we shot 30 percent in some games, we won those games because of our defense,” Ramsey said. “As long as we’re getting steals and easy layups, we’re going to be in games and be competitive.”
Martinez hopes her pride for defense is infectious next season, especially with Port Isabel expected to be a younger squad next year.
“If you don’t know how to play defense, you don’t know how to play basketball,” she said. “Defense is hard, but I think it’s my favorite part of the game.”
Andrew Crum covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him at (956) 982-6629 or via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @andrewmcrum.