When teams look across the court at the Santa Maria boys basketball team, they know what to expect.

It will be a thunderstorm of 3-pointers.

The 3-point shot has been the Saints identity for some time.

It started with coach Dave Yamate, who coached Santa Maria from 2014-2024 before announcing his retirement to spend more time with his family. Now first-year coach Johnny Rodriguez has continued encouraging his players to put up threes.

“We love the 3-pointer,” Rodriguez said. “Our saying here is ‘three is better than two.’”

And the Saints numbers back it up.

Santa Maria made 443 3-pointers last season and a total of 1,416 since 2021. The national average according to MaxPreps is 114 3-point makes in a single season.

“(Coach) Yamate was ahead of this time,” Rodriguez said. “Look how t

See Full Page