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Regularly getting three and four scorers in double-figures early in the season, there was little reason for the Fort Bend Dulles boys basketball team to stir its pot.
The Vikings opened the season 21-0, but as midseason approached the contributions of junior guard Dre Harrison off the bench became increasingly apparent.
Harrison's first start happened to be the Vikings' first loss, 58-56 to Fort Bend Elkins on Jan. 8, but that hardly was a harbinger of things to come.
In a season full of huge performances across the board, Harrison, a 6-foot-1 junior guard, has become the glue to which the rest of the Vikings adhere. For his accomplishments in leading Dulles to its first-ever state tournament berth, Harrison is The Athlete's Connection's CollegeBallorBust.com Athlete of the Week.
Harrison had game-highs of 26 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and five steals in the Vikings' 62-56 regional quarterfinal upset of Elkins; 18 points in a 70-42 semifinal rout of Chavez, then stepped aside a bit and scored only nine in Saturday's 70-62 victory against Madison in the 5A-Region III final.
Almost fittingly, Harrison scored the Vikings' final basket, a layup with 16 seconds left that send the red-, white- and blue-clad Dulles contingent into ecstasy.
"It's my team (that deserves credit for his success)," Harrison said. "I tell them to go hard, they tell me to go hard and we just do what we have to do to win."
He is among one of two sets of brothers on the team. Harrison's younger brother, D'Angelo, is a freshman guard; and twin brothers Thomas and Abel Galliguez are 5-9 starting guards who help key the offensive attack.
The Vikings' tallest player is 6-foot-4 sophomore post Adrian Kuyinu.
"We share the wealth. That's what it's all about in our offense," Dulles coach Mike Carrabine said. "They've bought into that (team philosophy)."
Harrison wasn't sure how to describe how his role has changed throughout the season. All he knows is it has, for the better.
"I was still scoring a lot (off the bench) but I was like a target to pass to," he said. "Now I'm handling the ball a lot more and I'm doing a lot better. It's because of my team, though.
"I didn't have any trouble coming off the bench because we were still winning games. But everything's good. ...
"I really don't know about my role. I just go out there and play."
As it turns out, Dulles has to clear one more Houston-area team before its shot at a state championship. The Vikings were paired with Klein Forest (33-3) for the 3:30 p.m. semifinal Friday at the Frank Erwin Center in Austin.
"It feels great," Harrison said. "Nobody (doubters) can say anything now. We beat everybody else. All the work paid off. All the hard work paid off.
"We never played around. We always went out and worked hard."
One of the few times he unleashed any emotion after the regional final was when a reporter asked if he was ready to go to Austin.
"Oh my God, I'm ready to go," Harrison exclaimed, grabbing his jersey in excitement. "Dang, I'm ready."
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