And David Grover thought HIS team chucked treys at a ridiculous pace.
Grover, the longtime Ottawa High boys basketball coach, merely waves a white flag in Lawrence High's direction. When it comes to three-point shooting, so does every other team in Kansas state history.
For nearly a decade, Ottawa set the standard for three-point shooting abundance in Kansas. Grover's 1993 team set a single-game state record against Paola by attempting 42 threes. Two years later, the Cyclones set the state record for attempts in a season, letting loose 468 in 1995.
That's nothing, apparently.
Friday, Lawrence High shattered the state season mark when senior Taylor Parker nailed an NBA-range three-pointer in the second quarter against Shawnee Mission South.
It was attempt No. 469 on the season for LHS, and if two early-season forfeits don't wipe out some pretty impressive totals, Parker's trifecta broke a record that was living on borrowed time after the Lions' first game of the season.
Including their 77-69 victory Saturday over Free State, the Lions stand alone with 535 three-point attempts this season. They still have at least seven games to play.
As far as Ottawa's single-game record? Lawrence High broke that, too -- five times this season, most recently Friday when it attempted 48 threes. The high-water mark was 59 Dec. 5 against Topeka High.
Every record Lawrence High sets is another memory both Davis and the players will have for the rest of their lives. They seem to realize as much, too.
"We talked about it before the game that we were going to set a state record tonight," LHS coach Chris Davis said Friday. "The kids really enjoy playing this way, and I enjoy coaching it as well."
As for Grover, he hasn't been able to make an LHS game yet -- he's too busy leading his Cyclones to a 13-2 record this season -- but he claims he has all the respect in the world for the Lions, doing what no team in Kansas has ever done.
It's a little reminiscent of the teams he put together some 10 years ago.
"There are so many ways to win a basketball game," Grover said. "It was the style of play that worked for us. It seemed like we always threw up 25 threes a game."
Well, until lately. With the impact forwards that have come through the Ottawa program -- most recently Ross Thompson and Clint Bones -- the Cyclones have played more outside-in, rather than outside all the time like Lawrence does now.
But both coaches concede that records like these are only possible with a unique team makeup: a lot of good shooters.
Ottawa's 1995 team actually struggled, finishing 6-15. However, the next season, the Cyclones advanced to the state tournament and finished the season 16-7.
Lawrence, with a 4-10 record going into tonight's game against Shawnee Mission North, doesn't appear to be state-champion material. A complete, well-rounded lineup -- like 13-1 Olathe South's -- has seen more success than Lawrence's special squad of downtown bombers.
But LHS has etched a spot in Kansas high school basketball lore anyway -- three after three after three at a time.
There's yet another state record within Lawrence's reach: Three-pointers made in a season. Holcomb set that mark by nailing 211 threes in 1992. With at least seven games to play, Lawrence has 154.
Stay tuned.
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