SO FAR, SO GOOD : Addition of the Three-Point Shot in High School Basketball Is Gaining Mostly Positive Reviews

Against El Dorado High School, Buena Park’s Gary Hunter makes three-point baskets the first two times the Coyotes have the ball in overtime. Buena Park has a quick six-point lead and holds on for a 78-76 victory.

Huntington Beach, playing El Toro in a nonleague game, goes 0 for 6 on three-point attempts in the first quarter, then misses four more in the second and trails, 48-28, at halftime. In all, the Oilers miss 17 of 20 three-point shots and lose, 96-71.

In the championship game of the Orange tournament, Capistrano Valley builds a 33-15 lead against Saddleback midway through the second quarter. The Cougars rely almost exclusively on the three-point shot for their big lead. Saddleback shoots only a handful of three-pointers and the Cougars win, 58-52.

Like it or not--and most Orange County coaches and players like it--the three-point shot in high school basketball has made an impact in the first month of the season.

Last March, the National Federation of State High School Athletic Assns. adopted the rule for boys’ and girls’ games beginning this season. Last season, the Freeway and Sunset leagues used the shot on an experimental basis.

Now all courts have an arc-shaped line 19-feet 9-inches, measured from the center of the basket, painted on the floor. It is the same distance as is used in National Collegiate Athletic Assn. play.

The National Basketball Assn., however, uses a line that is not uniform. It measures 23-9 at its farthest distance--at the top of the key--and 22-0 at its closest--along the baseline.

But the 19-9 standard is just right for the high school level, coaches say.

Coaches have not reported extraordinarily high scores or extraordinarily low shooting percentages. Nor have their players been pulling up for three-pointers on fast breaks.

They do say that the line has been a significant factor primarily at the end of the game, particularly if one team is trying to catch-up. It also appears to have changed some team’s strategies.

It has given rise to designated shooters. Coaches say they tend to give certain players, those who can make such a long shot consistently, more freedom in shooting.

Certainly there are drawbacks. A team that misses too many low-percentage three-point shots trying to rally can fall further behind.

But on the eve of league play, which begins for some teams tonight, one of the most talked-about aspects of the three-point shot may be its excitement value.

“It’s added a lot to the game,” Estancia Coach Tim O’Brien said. “It’s almost like a dunk the way it gets the crowd going. I think it’s a good change for the game.”

Almost all agree with O’Brien.

“It’s changing the game,” Fountain Valley Coach Dave Brown said. “It’s a definite plus. Certainly, it offers a better opportunity to close gaps quicker. By the same token, using that strategy, you can fall behind farther.

“It’s a live by the sword, die by the sword type of thing.”

Roy Miller, Huntington Beach coach, has taken to the shot more than others because the Oilers are a small team, without a regular taller than 6-4.

“We spend quite a bit of time on it in practice,” Miller said. “We’re not a big team. We’ve had to rely on it. We like to have our guys get open at about 20 feet. It’s easier for them to get the shot off from there.”

“It all depends on the coach. Some coaches don’t spend that much time on it. Our philosophy is, I don’t want a kid taking a 19-footer. I want him to take a step back. To me there’s no use taking an 18 1/2-footer when you can take a 20-footer (and get three points).”

At the other end of the three-point spectrum is Foothill’s Jim Reames.

The Knights have a number of good outside shooters, including guard Rusty Van Cleave, but Reames said they seldom shoot more than six times a game from the three-point range.

“I’m kind of old-fashioned, we want to go inside first,” Reames said. “I’m not really happy with it. The game is won inside, on defense and on the boards. I don’t think many teams are going to win league championships with it.”

However, others say that the mere threat of the shot has opened the middle for centers. Without the three-point shot, a defense can sag in, clogging the lane and making it tough for a center to score, or even get the ball.

“It improves the inside game,” Kennedy Coach John Mayberry said. “It gives a big guy a chance to shoot inside.”

Said Jon Bochert, Edison coach: “Against a zone it seems to open up the middle. The three-point shot brings the big men out of the paint (key).”

Indeed, Bochert and others say there are more man-to-man and match-up zones being played this season. Mainly, they say, to combat the three-point shot.

“You have to be a little more aware of who a team’s three-pointer shooters are,” Mayberry said.

Still, teams aren’t exactly setting shooting records with three-pointers. Huntington Beach is shooting about 41% from beyond the three-point line as opposed to about 47% from two-point range.

Coaches say it is most effective when used late in the game.

“It changes the way the last part of the game is played,” Buena Park Coach Ken Bell said. “I think it keeps people from spreading the court (and going into a delay game) too early. It’s a way to catch up in a hurry. You can get six points in two possessions instead of three.”

Added O’Brien: “It’s not so much of a game-breaker as it is a momentum feeder.”

Teams that depend on the shot too much are asking for trouble. That is coaches’ biggest reservation so far.

“I’ve seen it hurt teams,” O’Brien said. “Some teams rely on the three-point shot for a lot of their offense. For high school teams to consistently try to win with it . . . that’s tough. It’s far out there.”

So far, however, the consensus is favorable toward the three-point shot.