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Photo by Jim Craven Gabe Willard has made 138 career 3-pointers for Phoenix, a school record. Behind the arc and on the mark In Willard, Phoenix has sharpshooter By RANDY HAMMERICKSEN PHOENIX -- In his 11 years as a high school basketball coach, Randy Shipley says he's never had a better perimeter shooter. Phoenix High senior Gabe Willard shoots that well. "He's a pure shooter with a perfect stroke," says Shipley. "I've never seen a better one." Now, if Shipley can only get his star player to shoot that beautiful shot more. "He's only shooting an average of nine shots a game," says Shipley. "That's not enough. I'd like him to shoot at least 15 times. It could help our team." With a 2-14 record, the Pirates need all the help they can get. Willard, a 6-foot-2 wing, is averaging 11.9 points a game through 16 games. He recently set a school record for career 3-pointers. He has 138. The old mark was 131 by Ben Goodman. A year ago, Willard, son of Phoenix-Talent School District Superintendent Dave Willard, set the school record for 3s in a season with 68. "Gabe can definitely catch it and shoot it," says Shipley. "He's had some incredible games. When he made 6-of-8 3-pointers against Henley, it was an incredible display, and it kept us in the game for a long time." Willard is Phoenix's tallest starter, so he has to do a lot of work inside, which keeps him from setting behind the 3-point line. "The amazing thing about Gabe is that he's a total team player," says Shipley. "The way he shoots, he should be more selfish. "He's willing to pass and do what it takes to help his team." Willard says he doesn't mind shooting at all, but he doesn't want to shoot unless he's open. "I don't want to feel rushed," he says. "I don't like getting my shot blocked, if I try to force it. That's happened a few times. It's embarrassing." Willard is the object of double-teaming defenses most of the time. "It's hard to get open sometimes," says Willard. "I need screens to get open a lot." If that doesn't work, he passes. Willard is second on the Phoenix team in scoring behind 6-1 junior wing Andy Bartels, who is averaging 13.9 points and 5.1 rebounds a game. "Gabe is a pure shooter," says Bartels. "We know when he has an open 3-point shot, it's money. It's going down. "We work hard to get him the ball. But it's not always that easy. Teams double him and make it hard for him to get it. I know it helps me get open shots when he's drawing that kind of defensive attention." Willard's biggest fan is his dad, the superintendent. "He's never missed a game," says Gabe Willard, "and he cancels meetings to watch me play. When he's sick and I'm playing, he comes." Dave Willard, a former basketball player for Gates-Chili High of Rochester, N.Y., says he got by as a player "on guts and determination." But he says Gabe is a different kind of player. "He has a beautiful shot," says Dave. "It's just picture-perfect. I love to watch it fly. "Gabe has worked hard, and he has a great ethic. I coached him in the small fries leagues, and I'm proud of that ethic he has." Today's Sports Index Mail Tribune Copyright� The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford,