While watching the proliferation of the 3-point shot in Maine high school basketball games over the years, my thoughts often go back to an old Stearns High School teammate, Mike Baron.
Mike was an outstanding perimeter shooter who earned a Bangor Daily News All-Maine first-team selection while helping lead our Minutemen of Millinocket to an Eastern Maine Class A title in 1977.
He was the epitome of a pure shooter with an uncanny accuracy and a soft touch whose production could have been an extra 5 to 10 points per game with the 3-point shot.
However, the 3-point shot wasn’t implemented in Maine until the 1987-1988 season, leaving Mike and other outstanding players out of the biggest rule change to affect the high school game in the last 30 years.
Some teams and coaches may have been a little reluctant to fully embrace the 3-point shot in those early years because it meant changes on how they ran their offenses of seeking high-percentage shots.
It didn’t take long, however, for Maine coaches to smartly adapt and put in offensive sets that still produced high-percentage shots — layups and post baskets — while providing plays to boost 3-point production.
Coaches and players soon learned that 3-point shooters who could hit 33 percent of their shots were just as beneficial to their teams as two-point shooters who made 50 percent of their shots.
It’s now not unusual to see at least 10 3-point attempts per game in all classes, AA through D, boys and girls.
The 3-point shot has also arguably become the most exciting play in Maine high school basketball. Yes, it’s still riveting to see a player break away for a dunk but it can’t match the skill of seeing a player launch a shot from behind the 19-foot-9 arc that snips through the bottom of the net.
The 3-pointer has also increased the drama of late-game comebacks as leads are not as secure because of the added weapon of quickly nailing a few 3-pointers in the closing minutes. It’s not unusual these days to see 10- or even 15-point leads evaporate in the final few minutes.
Some may argue that high school teams have become over-reliant on the 3-point shot and that it is eroding other parts of the game but Maine’s coaches know the game too well to let this happen. They are continuing to stress strong fundamentals and understand the value of stifling defense.
While 3-point shot attempts have increased, games still feature good offensive balance, with pick-and-rolls to the basket, players moving away from the ball to get open and post production.
The game is still producing many well-rounded players like my old teammate Mike Baron. While Mike was a great outside shooter, he didn’t become one of the state’s best just because of that skill.
He was a 6-foot-5 forward/center who could drive by his slower defenders if they played him too tight on the outside. He could post up and score on either block, was a tough rebounder on both ends of the glass and a strong defender.
If he played today, he certainly would be launching his share of 3-point shots while still featuring a strong all-around game that complemented his teammates.
If you have a chance, check out a Maine high school game this season. You may see a player like Mike.