Stage fright: Arco Arena is a universal prep playoff goal, but there can be pitfalls

The X-factor now is the Arco Arena "Wow" factor.

Teams competing in the Sac-Joaquin Section basketball playoffs bound into the NBA setting with a collective gasp of, "Wow, we're here!" and, "Wow, it must be a mile to the top row!"

In the 10th season Arco has hosted the boys and girls section finals, the underlying theme remains: How teams balance the euphoria of getting there and adjusting to the surroundings plays a significant role in which team hangs a championship banner and which team hangs its head.

"Dealing with Arco can make or break a player – or a team," said Kennedy High School girls coach Brandon Yung, "because Arco is so different than anything else. And there's the pressure factor. Players are used to small crowds (of up to 1,000). There could be 7,000 to 8,000 fans watching at Arco now. That's really different."

Folsom guard Ben Palmer said the adrenaline generally hits an athlete once he comes through the tunnel. He said it's like hitting a wall of awe. A taste of the big time on the big stage made him suddenly feel small.

"You can't help but admire the court and where you are, and it makes you feel pretty good," Palmer said. "It can take you by surprise."

Everything about Arco is different for prep players. For starters, it holds 17,333 fans. The ball sounds different bouncing on the floor. There's an echo. There's a sharper squeak to the sneakers. The rims are tighter. And shots sound different.

"One thing you'll notice if you miss a lot of shots like I have there," Sacramento High guard Chase Tapley said, "is there's that microphone on the rim. You miss it bad, and it goes, 'Boing!' You really want to avoid that."

Frontcourt players don't seem fazed as much at Arco. Josh Keys, a power forward for Rodriguez High, said he attacks the rim the same way at Arco as any other gym.

"It's all the same, but it does feel great to score off that NBA backboard," said Keys, who made 6 of 8 inside shots in a semifinal win over Sheldon on Thursday.

The Arco floor seems endless at 94 feet, which is 10 feet longer than most standard high school gyms. Small, quick teams embrace the idea of a longer court, thinking they will run bigger players into a fit of exhaustion.

The first thing shooters notice at Arco is the depth perception. There is no wall behind the glass backboards to help close things in, the norm at most high school gyms.

"You really have to concentrate more," Palmer said. "But you can't try to change your shot or game because that will really mess up your game."

At Arco, there are sponsor signs and acres of blue seats. At the ends, the seats are 15 feet behind the backboards.

"And the rim, it's just hanging out there in space," Sac High boys coach Derek Swafford said.

Coaches implore their players to stick with their game, ignore the NBA three-point line that taunts them and concentrate on the task at hand.

A year ago, Folsom missed 13 consecutive three-pointers in a Division I loss to Edison. In Thursday's rematch, the Bulldogs made 7 of 16 from long range in prevailing 81-71.

"When that first three went up, from NBA range, I thought, 'Oh geez, what are we doing?' But once we hit some, the confidence was there," Folsom coach Mike Wall said. "And that's the key. So much of it is mental. It's like the movie "Hoosiers," when the coach reminds everyone that it's the same measurements to the free-throw line. You can say it and tell them, but everyone responds to that stress differently."

Those who have been to Arco remember it well. The McClatchy girls marched into the D-I final a year ago, admittedly wide-eyed at the environment. Despite being an underdog as a No. 7 seed, the Lions didn't blink. They didn't miss much, either. McClatchy made seven first-half threes and 9 of 15 overall to upset top-seeded Kennedy 48-37. Kennedy, meanwhile, shot just 28 percent overall.

"Arco didn't bother the girls at all," McClatchy coach Harvey Tahara said. "I was amazed. I've been there at Arco with boys teams, and it can be a difficult adjustment. You see airballs you normally don't see."

McClatchy and Kennedy meet in a championship rematch tonight, and Tahara said he won't alter his game plan. The threes will fly.

"You stay with what you know," he said. "You keep things as normal as you can."

Kennedy players expect to be comfortable in their surroundings tonight.

"Last year in the finals, we had jitters," Cougars forward Melody Khlok said. "Now we know what to expect."

Division I boys and girls teams got a sample of what a bigger arena feels like in earlier playoff rounds at Pacific's Spanos Center, capacity 6,150.

The Bradshaw Christian girls reached Arco for the first time Friday and defeated Wilton Christian 49-35 for the Division V championship. To best prepare for the setting, coach Mike Ruble had his team practice at Cosumnes River College, which isn't Arco but it is considerably larger than what his team is used to.

"That's as close as we could come to making it feel like Arco," Ruble said.

The truth? Nothing quite feels like Arco.

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