The Equalizer: The Wind at Laguna : Taras Young Has Beaten Best With His Home-Hoop Advantage

Taras Young has never played in a National Basketball Assn. game. He wasn’t even drafted.

But the 33-year-old waiter from Corona del Mar has gone up against the likes of Leon Wood, Kelly Tripucka and Lorenzo Romar--all current or former NBA players--and has beaten them all.

Of course, Young had the advantage in that they were playing three-on-three basketball outdoors on his favorite court--Laguna’s Main Beach.

Indoors, the 5-foot 11-inch Young, who played one season at Cal State Fullerton, wouldn’t be able to compete in a five-on-five, full-court game with the pros.

It’s a different story outdoors at Laguna. There, Young is in total communion with his environment. He knows all the quirks of the court. He knows how to shoot into the ocean breeze, which can make layups difficult even for the best of players.

“It can be a great equalizer,” Young said of the wind at Laguna. “You have to pick the right spots to shoot from. If you’re shooting against the wind, you’re not gonna hit it.”

Young has been playing at Laguna for about 11 years, and his outdoor experience gives him the advantage over players such as Wood, who only get to Main Beach a few times during the off-season.

Like most good players at Laguna, Young knows that, on windy days, the breeze is usually blowing in one direction. The trick, he said, is to take 80% to 90% of your shots from the side of the court where the wind is at your back.

“I learned that pretty quick,” he said. “My first couple of days there, I figured out why it was so much easier to shoot from one side.”

Young is a pretty good shooter inside, too. A 1971 graduate of Newport Harbor High School, he averaged 20 points a game in two varsity seasons. He played two years at Golden West College, averaging 26 points in his second season.

He went on to play one season at Cal State Fullerton (1974-75) and started about half the games, averaging 10 points, but that was as far as his career went. His organized basketball career, that is.

Young didn’t hang up his high-tops. Instead, he went on to become one of Orange County’s best outdoor players. His teams have won about 25 tournaments at Main Beach in the past 10 years.

Working two jobs, he doesn’t get to play as much as he did when he first got out of college, but he hasn’t lost his reputation as one of the best outdoor shooters around.

“If you give him the open shot, he’ll hit it,” said Mark Wulfemeyer, a former Troy High star who plays his share of games at Laguna. “He’s getting to the age where he can’t create many moves anymore, but he’s still a heck of a player.”

Young, who is married, works weekdays at the La Fayette Restaurant in Garden Grove from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and dinners at the Villa Nova Restaurant in Newport Beach from 5:30 to 11:30.

After his lunch job, he either runs two miles or heads to Laguna or Newport Beach for an hour or two of hoops.

“Sometimes, I don’t even take a shower--I just come home, throw my clothes on and go to work,” he said. “That’s the way it is.”

That’s the way it always has been for Young. He grew up a gym rat, playing wherever and whenever he could. Outdoors, he’d play sometimes from morning until dusk. He can remember days when he’d remain on the court for 15 straight games because he never lost.

“There isn’t anything more fun than taking an ice chest down to the beach and playing good ball,” he said.

Sometimes, it’s no ordinary day at the beach. Not when you’re playing against Mark Olberding (6-8, 230 pounds); Billy Paultz (6-11, 255) and Coby Dietrick (6-11, 225).

Young faced the NBA players in a tournament at Laguna about eight years ago, and his team had the ball and a 10-4 lead. Young remembers driving the lane, and when Paultz came over to cover him, passing to teammate Ron Riley (former USC star), who was open underneath for a potential game-winning shot.

“All he had to do was lay it in for the win, but he tried to dunk it,” Young said. “He hit the front of the rim and the ball bounced out. They got the ball back, scored eight straight baskets, and won, 12-10.”

Young has played against several other pros, including Byron Scott, Swen Nater and Clint Chapman, at Laguna Beach. There are lots of other good memories of games with and against outstanding college players.

And there will probably be many more great games, as long as Young stays healthy and active.

About six months ago, he had a sore ankle and went to a doctor, who discovered that Young had arthritis. The doctor suggested that Young quit running and definitely quit playing basketball.

Yeah, right.

Young, who has had three knee operations, took some anti-inflammatory pills and was running within the week. His knees and ankles are sore, but he still plays basketball whenever he has the time.

“When a doctor sits there and tells you you’re not gonna play anymore, it kind of goes in one ear and out the other,” Young said. “I’m a basketball junkie, and I just can’t quit.”