Reggie Miller Finds Nice Home at Long Range

It’s a weekday morning, and Pauley Pavilion is dark and empty.

Reggie Miller strolls in, pokes his head into an office and asks for some lights. His request is instantly granted.

Considering all the times Reggie has shot the lights out in this place, it’s only appropriate he should also possess the power to turn ‘em on.

Reggie, in street clothes, walks onto the court, dribbling a ball. He has dropped by his favorite gym this morning to talk about the three hottest topics in college basketball: the UCLA Bruins, the new three-point line and Reggie Miller.

Last Monday night, the Bruins beat top-ranked North Carolina, 89-84, here at Pauley, the biggest Bruin win since 1975. Even though it was a non-conference, non-tournament game, it was real big. Kareem was in the stands, and Jamaal and Marques and other famous Bruin alums who need no last names. The crowd was loud and wild, like in the old days. It was a magic night. In fact, Magic was there, too.

Miller scored 32 points.

“This is my final season, and we’d like to go out with a bang,” Reggie says. “We already lit the fuse.”

Reggie is dribbling casually around the court now, out beyond the new three-point line, which is a mere 19 feet 9 inches from the hoop.

“They should’ve made it 22 feet, or 23,” Miller says. “Separate the men from the boys.”

What’s Reggie’s effective range?

He drifts back toward midcourt. And keeps drifting. Finally, he stops.

“I’ll shoot from here,” he says.

There are no lines out where he’s standing. They don’t paint lines in outer space. I step off the distance. He has set up 13 feet beyond the three-point line, roughly 33 feet from the hole. The rim looks hazy in the distance; the hoop looks no larger than a soup can.

“You’ll shoot from here in a real game?” I ask.

“Sure. I shot one against North Carolina last year from here. I shot one from this far out against Santa Clara. It went in and out.”

“And (Coach Walt) Hazzard doesn’t say anything?”

“Not once has he ever said, ‘Don’t shoot that shot.’ Even in practice. It’s kind of a mutual understanding. He’s always had total faith, and I haven’t let him down.”

Quite the contrary. Last season, Reggie made 55.6% of his shots and scored 25.9 points a game. He was the fourth-leading scorer in the nation. This year, he has added 10 pounds of muscle to his 6-foot 7-inch frame. The one-time beanpole now is built more like a sturdy soda straw.

He also has some skilled teammates and a fearless coach. And he’s got the new line, even if they did paint it too close to the hoop to suit Reggie.

He uses the line even when he doesn’t use it.

Monday, North Carolina took away his bomb. Miller launched only two shots from behind the line. Instead, he slipped the perimeter defenses and went inside for his shots.

Now, if future opponents sag and clog up the driving lanes, guess what Reggie will do.

The long shot is still his ace. Reggie’s dad taught him how to shoot a decade ago, out in the family’s backyard, adding more sections of cement to the court as the boy’s range increased, until the Miller family had itself a backyard parking lot.

Dad still gives pointers. Early in the North Carolina game, Reggie missed a three-pointer. He glanced into the stands. His father was holding his right arm straight up, as if giving the infamous Cheryl Miller in-your-face salute. In sign language dad was telling son, “Extension!”

Reggie tried one more three-pointer. He extended his right arm fully. Swish.

Every day before practice, Miller shoots 120 three-pointers. After practice he plays several games of three-point-only H-O-R-S-E with Montel Hatcher, Kevin Walker and assistant coach Andre McCarter. When Reggie is nervous or worried or having trouble with a subject in school, he finds a hoop and shoots for an hour or so.

“It clears your head,” he says.

Not if you have to guard him. Reggie is probably the most feared offensive player in the country. More importantly, he is not alone.

“ I won’t get me my points,” he says. “My team will get me my points. Against North Carolina, my team got me 32 points.”

But Reggie is the star. Tuesday, he was interviewed on TV Channels 2, 7, 9, 13 and ESPN, which sent a long, white limo to pick him up on campus.

People want to know his shooting secrets. Here are some:

--Don’t look down. In that respect, shooting the three-pointer is like climbing a sheer cliff. The heat of a game is no time to be checking the location of your sneakers. --For a bombsight, use the three net-hanger rim eyelets closest to you.

--If you want to do it exactly like Reggie, chew your fingernails to nubs, always eat a cheeseburger a couple of hours before the game and never chew gum in practice but always in a game.

The rest is easy.

The lesson over, Reggie swishes a couple of mini-bombs and dribbles off the court. A minute later, the arena is dark and empty.