Quick-Draw Curto Has Soft Touch : Basketball: Liberty Christian’s 5-11 forward leads Orange County with a 28.1 scoring average.

Toby Curto took the pass on the wing, dribbled to the free-throw line and hit a jump shot so smoothly and quickly that his defender could only look up in exasperation.

“I shoot that a lot,” he says. “It’s my favorite shot. I practiced it a lot last summer.”

All that work definitely didn’t go to waste. Curto, a 5-foot-11 junior forward at Liberty Christian, leads Orange County in scoring with a 28.1-point average and is shooting 55%, which also ranks among the county’s best.

True, he benefits from the Minutemen’s fast-break offense and gets several layups each game, but Curto scores the bulk of his points with a quick-release jumper that is utterly frustrating for those trying to guard him.

“He has a very nice, soft shot,” Liberty Christian Coach Rudy Sass said. “I haven’t seen anybody who can shoot the ball off the dribble as well. The closest kid to him in the league would be Jocques Wright (St. Michael’s Prep player who is second in the county in scoring with a 26.9 average).”

Curto, who averaged 15 points as a point guard last season, said he likes his new role as the team’s primary offensive threat. He can do without the pressure of being the playmaker. And putting it in the hoop--or trying to, anyway--is the fun part of the game, after all.

But even with his shooting success this year, Curto realizes his limitations. For instance, he seldom takes three-point shots because they’re a little out of his range, and he considers them low-percentage attempts. He’ll try a three-pointer only if the team needs it desperately.

“He’s very good with his shot selection,” Sass said. “He’ll very rarely take a bad shot.”

Curto scored a career-high 51 points in a nonleague victory over Glendale Adventist in January. He also scored more than 30 points in victories over Heritage Christian (34) and Cal Lutheran (31).

That kind of production has helped the Minutemen to a 15-6 record, 5-2 in the Academy League. They trail first-place St. Margaret’s by two games. The teams, which tied for the title last season, finish their league schedule Friday, with Liberty Christian traveling to Heritage Christian and St. Margaret’s playing host to Cal Lutheran.

Cynics question Curto’s ability because his scoring statistics have come in a small-school league. But Curto believes he would be effective in a more prestigious league, too.

“That kind of thing bothers me,” Curto said. “Most people don’t take the time to come and watch us play. Those teams we play are not rolling over and letting me score. Most people assume they (other teams) don’t play defense, but they do.”

Opponents use different defenses to try to keep Curto from dismantling them. He is often double-teamed even when he doesn’t have the ball.

Curto also takes pride in his defensive skills. He understands that is the mark of a well-rounded player; people don’t point to him and say, “He can shoot, but . . . .”

“I like playing defense,” Curto said. “I’m pretty proud of myself if I can stop a good player from scoring. Or if I make a good pass, and we score. That’s pretty rewarding.”

Understandably, though, it’s his teammates who try to find Curto with their passes. If they want points, he’s the one who can deliver.

But Curto said he’s not concerned about scoring averages.

“I don’t think about it too much,” he said. “As long as we’re winning, that’s going to outweigh the fact of whether I score or not. I knew we were going to try and run, and I knew that if that style worked, I would do much more scoring (than last year). But I didn’t think I would be leading the county.”