Gibson Enjoys Her Role With All-Star Cast : Girls’ basketball: Santa Ana Valley standout has drawn raves while preparing for county postseason game.

SANTA ANA â€”  Velina Gibson walked on the floor, dribbled the basketball and made a gliding move past a defender. And she opened some eyes.

It was earlier this month at one of those postseason all-star games, and the opposing coach, Brea Olinda’s Jeff Sink, looked at his assistant on the bench.

Then they looked to a courtside observer.

“Who’s that? “ they asked.

It took an all-star game for Sink, who represents the upper strata of girls’ basketball teams in Orange County, to finally get a chance to see Gibson, who plays for Santa Ana Valley--a program that doesn’t exactly run in the same circles. But Gibson led the county in assists (8.1) and had a formidable 15.2 scoring average for the Falcons.

Gibson will get another chance to show her stuff today at 5 p.m. She will be among the 24 seniors who play at Orange Coast College in the granddaddy of local all-star contests, the 30th Costa Mesa Kiwanis Club Orange County All-Star basketball game.

It’s quite an opportunity for Gibson, who never developed the same recognition factor as players associated with top-flight basketball programs.

“I’ve only been here six months but I know Orange County pretty well now, and she’s one of the biggest unknowns in O.C. basketball,� said Sink, whose team reached the Southern Regional Division II finals. “She’s smooth as silk and brings a lot of skill to the game; we didn’t have anybody (in the game) that could guard her.

“She made a couple of moves and took off at the free-throw line and hung in the air with composure and grace and shot her jump shot. . . . she really brought some poetry and grace to the game. There are many players in the state who are better than her, but I don’t think there’s anybody who plays with such fluidity. She’s going to make some college coach very happy.�

Gibson is trying to determine where to attend college. She could wind up at a community college; she has not yet received any offers from four-year schools.

That’s partly because of the recognition factor. Santa Ana Valley (16-8) reached the playoffs for the first time in Gibson’s career, but was eliminated in the first round by Esperanza.

“I wanted to get into the second or third round to get her that exposure that she didn’t get all year,� Falcon Coach Kevin Stipp said.

No such luck. But Gibson’s first all-star experience was a success--she scored 10 points and had six rebounds in the Orange County All-Star Tournament--and she’s looking forward to this weekend’s all-star appearance.

“I know there’s a lot of people out there watching me, especially scouts, and I just want to show them that I have the ability to play with anybody around here,� said Gibson, who also averaged 6.7 rebounds and four steals. “(The all-star competition) was more intense, and I felt that I could show them more, play as hard as I can and I don’t have to slow down to anyone’s level. I could go full out.�

It’s all a bonus for Gibson, who admitted she was sometimes jealous of other, more well-known players in the county. “I knew I could play just like them,� she said. “But I’m over that now. . . . I’m going to play the way I play and that’s what counts.�

The way she plays now is due largely to her work ethic last summer after Stipp took over the Santa Ana Valley program.

Gibson became more mentally attuned to what was expected of her and worked hard to become the leader that Stipp wanted.

“I think her fundamentals were neglected early, and who knows how good she would have been had she been challenged right away,� Stipp said. “What she did for us was about all she could have done.

“She hadn’t really been taught the game until this year; if she had, I think she would be right up there with someone like Melody Peterson (of Mater Dei, The Times’ and Southern Section Division I player of the year). She has that kind of potential.�