In the world of basketball 3 isn’t a magic number. It’s downright deadly – capable of trimming any deficit to a manageable figure or possessing the power to swing momentum from one team to the next. It can turn a tight game into a rout in a matter of moments.
The River Ridge High School boys basketball team knows this. The Hawks have thrived on it for years now.
If basketball was a religion, River Ridge’s squad would have converted to three-ism a long time ago. Their deity would be the divine Larry Bird or the sacred Stephen Curry.
Their cathedrals would reside approximately 20 feet away from any basket.
“I don’t want to say we live and die by the 3,” River Ridge coach John Barbee said, “but the 3 ball has definitely been there for us.”
That statement is perhaps more accurate this year than ever.
The Hawks go nine deep this year – and everyone seems to be capable of lighting it up from long range.
“I think we are all at that level,” said senior Issiah Scott. “You can’t really tell who the best (on the team) is because we can all shoot. Anyone on this team can go off for 20 (points) in a game.”
Scott is joined in the rotation with fellow seniors LaBrandon Price, Kobe Key, Mac Armstrong and Jaden White.
Throw in sharp-shooting junior guards Alex Coleman and Tre’vonne Dorfner and gifted forwards Kelle Sanders and Jordan Skipper-Brown and Barbee can pretty much mix-and-match any combination and regardless of which Hawks are out on the court, plenty of points will be put up on the scoreboard.
“I think 1 through 9 there’s not much of a drop off,” Barbee said. “It’s a nice problem to have. There’s not a lot of difference between our bench and our starters.”
Opening the season with an 8-1 record, River Ridge, the defending 2A South Puget Sound League champions, have scored 71 or more points in all eight victories and have surpassed 80 points twice.
The squad’s lone defeat came to 3A Auburn Riverside, 54-50, in a game the Hawks led after three quarters.
“One of the thing we try to do is be flexible to our personnel,” said Barbee, who guided River Ridge to a third-place finish at last year’s Class 2A state tournament. “We’ve been lucky with guys who are athletic and quick and use that to our advantage. The 3, transition steals and creating turnovers – that’s what we want – controlled chaos. That’s been our way of doing it and its fun for the kids to be a part of.”
Another aspect the players seem to enjoy is the fact Barbee provides each player the green light when it comes to offense.
“We want you to play defense because that’s what wins games, but if you’re an offensive-minded guy, catch that ball, spot up and shoot,” Barbee said. “Take a player like Jaden White, all we tell him to do is catch and shoot the ball and when you have a coach saying that, how can you not like it?”
Barbee certainly received no resistance from Scott on the offensive approach.
“I just went with it because I liked it so much,” said Scott, who scored a season-high 16 points in a season-opening 78-28 rout of Shelton. “I love it because that’s what I do best, catch and shoot.”
And if you miss?
“Good shooters will keep shooting,” Barbee said. “They have short-term memories and they will come back and hit that next one. That’s what we try to tell our guys. Do what you do best.”
For this year’s Hawks, that list has a few items on it as it also includes an opportunistic swarming defense which can turn turnovers into points in no time.
“We have to go hard on defense and we have to finish,” Price said. “Defense will lead to easy offense.”
River Ridge equaled its best state placing in school history last year, ending the 2015 season by besting Squalicum, 72-50, for the third-place trophy – the program’s first state placing since 2009.
“I think we’re more together than we were last year,” said Price, whose 25 points helped the Hawks knock off league rival White River, 77-71 on December 15. “We’re more like a family this year.”
However, that does not mean there are any breaks given at practices.
“It’s real intense,” Price said. “Everybody is always going after each other because everyone wants to play better. Nobody really has that fixed spot (in the rotation) because everyone wants to play more.”
