It’s Raining Buckets in Oregon--But It’s the 3-Point Variety : College Basketball: Former El Camino star Kevin Mixon has set single-game and single-season records.

Folks around Eugene, Ore., are used to getting a lot of rain. But they’re getting even more since Kevin Mixon came to town.

They’ve been getting three-point showers.

Mixon, a junior transfer from El Camino College, is in his first season at the University of Oregon. But already he holds the Oregon single-game and season records for three-pointers.

And Mixon, the Rainmaker, admits that he’s still just learning.

“I came in here expecting a lot from myself,” Mixon said. “I’ve set goals for myself, and I’ve been trying to capture all of them in one month. Sometimes I feel like I’ve been racing too much.”

It’s been a race for Mixon since October, when Oregon Coach Don Monson plugged Mixon into the shooting guard spot in his starting lineup before the Ducks’ season opener.

In his first Division I college game, a 102-75 loss at Arkansas, Mixon led Oregon with 15 points. He’s been a fixture in the starting lineup since.

Mixon is averaging 12.6 points per game, third on the team behind sophomore point guard Terrell Brandon (17.2) and forward Keith Reynolds (15).

But the sweetest sound for the long-suffering fans at Oregon’s McArthur Court has been the booming of his long-distance thunderclaps.

Almost two-thirds of Mixon’s shots this season have come from beyond the three-point stripe. In Oregon’s structured fast-break offense, Mixon’s job is to pull up out of transition behind the line and cut loose with the rainbows.

So far this season, Mixon has responded with 62 three-pointers. Two weeks ago, he broke the single-season record of 52 set by Frank Johnson in 1988.

In the same game, a 79-78 loss to visiting UC Berkeley, Mixon buried seven three-pointers, also a school record. He finished with 21 points, three shy of the season-high 24 he posted in mid-December against Nevada-Reno.

Performances like that are giving Oregon fans something to cheer about for a change. And they are beginning to like the forecast for the future.

Last season, Oregon staggered to an 8-21 record and won only three games in the Pac-10 Conference. The Ducks had only a single win on the road--a two-point victory over USC.

This season, Oregon was selected to finish in the Pac-10 cellar again by most magazines. One of them, Dick Vitale’s Basketball ‘89-90, predicted that the Ducks would waddle to a 6-22 record.

“I smiled when I saw that,” Mixon said.

So far this season, Mixon and the Ducks have smiled their way to 13-10.

Oregon is the most surprising team in the Pac-10. With an 8-6 record in conference games, the Ducks are in sole possession of fifth place, trailing fourth-place UCLA (16-7, 9-5) by only a game.

The struggling Bruins visit McArthur Court tonight, followed on Saturday by streaking USC (9-13, 4-10).

And in a season when as many as five Pac-10 teams could end up with postseason bids, the Ducks might give Monson his third trip to the National Invitation Tournament in his seven years at Oregon.

“Our time is coming,” Mixon said. “To tell you the truth, I’m actually a little surprised we haven’t been better.”

The major factor in the Ducks’ turnaround this season has been the emergence of newcomers Mixon and Brandon in the Oregon back court. One or the other has been the team’s leading scorer in all but seven games this season.

It’s also one of the finer back-court tandems in the Pac-10. The shooting skills of the 6-foot-3, 205-pound Mixon complement the penetrating and scoring ability of the gnat-like Brandon, who is 5-foot-11 and 173 pounds.

“We just click back there,” Mixon said. “Terrell is a point guard who can score, so I know his role and he knows mine. It seems like when he’s ready to pass the ball, I’m ready to shoot it.”

Mixon has always been ready to shoot. As a sophomore last year, Mixon helped El Camino post a 25-9 record and reach the state semifinals. He averaged 18.8 points per game while shooting an amazing 60% from the field.

“At El Camino, I had a tremendous amount of freedom,” Mixon said. “I was allowed to break the offense at almost any time, read my man, and score.”

But the most important lesson Mixon learned from El Camino Coach Ron McClurkin was discipline. It has paid off this season as Mixon adjusts to his changing role.

“It’s a world of work,” Mixon said.

Monson has asked Mixon to rebound more and set more picks this year than the 21-year-old Jefferson High School product has been used to.

Mixon explained: “It used to be that my first option was to shoot. The second option was to throw it inside. And the third option was to pass it on the perimeter. Now, I’m called upon to do even more.”

These days, Mixon’s primary option is still to cast off for the trey. Mixon has launched 157 shots from three-point distance this season, making nearly 40% of them.

“Kevin has a lot of freedom, and he can shoot it whenever he wants to,” Monson said. “He has great range once he gets into his rhythm. He’s getting into it a lot more lately, but still some games are better than others.”

Mixon’s shooting this season has been up and down. After his 24 against Nevada-Reno, he scored only six at UC Santa Barbara. In January, Mixon scored only 16 points over a three-game span against Stanford, Oregon State and Washington. But he came back in the next game with 17 points against Washington State.

“Coach Monson doesn’t yell at me for shooting and missing,” Mixon said. “Sometimes as a (shooting) guard, you get caught up in how much you have to score. I’ve learned now that it’s not necessarily always the big jumper that we need. Sometimes what we need is a big (rebound) or a big steal.”

Monson recruited Mixon to fill the shooting void left by the departure of Johnson, who led Oregon last year as a senior with a scoring average of 16.3.

It was easy recruiting. Mixon had no doubt where he would spend the final two years of his college career. Even in high school, Mixon liked the Ducks and would root for them when they played UCLA and USC on television.

“I wanted to come in and help this team on its way to becoming established,” Mixon said. “I didn’t want to go to another school, sit down on the bench and be non-existent. This is exactly what I’ve been looking for.”

The feeling is starting to become mutual around Eugene.

“We’re working hard, not criticizing each other and not tearing each other down,” Mixon said. “After all, we all came to this school from another place where we were superstars.

“Sure, everyone wants the ball and everyone wants to score. But there’s a camaraderie and chemistry on this team to the point where everyone goes with the flow and does his own job. I think it’s going to carry over into the postseason and then into next year.”

If it does, the rainbows and smiles--both inside and outside McArthur Court--should carry over as well.