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It's apparent on the recruiting trail. It's detectable on the scouting reports. It's noticeable on the highlights.

The midrange game has become a lost art in college basketball. Although a few players still embrace the beauty of a pull-up jumper, most take a feast or famine approach to offense - either drive straight to the basket or step behind the three-point line and let it fly.

"A guy who can play off the dribble, bounce and score without having to get all the way to the rim is hard to find," said Utah men's basketball coach Jim Boylen. "If you find one of those, you better try and get one."

Much of the decline in the midrange game is attributed to the infatuation with the three-pointer. The shot many coaches term "the great equalizer" often helps smaller programs contend with some of the big boys.

Brigham Young and Utah each use the three-pointer as major weapons in their arsenals. The programs finished ranked fifth and sixth, respectively, last season in three-point percentage nationally.

But their midrange games haven't been nearly as prolific. This season, BYU has scored only 11 percent of its points on midrange shots while Utah has scored 12.5 percent. The rest have come from behind the three-point line, in the paint

or at the free-throw line.

But hope for the midrange game coming back more into vogue could be on the horizon.

Beginning next season, the NCAA is moving back the three-point line a foot for the men - from 19 feet, 9 inches to 20 feet, 9 inches.

The rationale behind the change is to spread the floor and reduce physical play. But a by-product will be a bit more space to operate between the three-point line and the rim.

Coaches don't expect much to change in the way of three-point shooting. They figure players will just step back an extra foot and fire.

Most professional-minded players already have developed range from the NBA line, which is 23 feet, 9 inches at the top and 22 feet at the baseline corners.

But Boylen would love to see the NCAA's move urge players to work more on the midrange aspects of their game.

"We have done it every day since I have come here, and it's hard to get guys better at it," said Boylen, in his first season at Utah. "There is really no way to teach it, and you can't really work on it by yourself. You need guys bumping you and hitting you and you need to be shot faking and pulling up."

BYU junior guard Lee Cummard made midrange components a part of his repertoire from an early age.

"I don't think I have ever been a guy willing to just stand out there and jack it up," the 6-foot-7 Cummard said. "I have always liked to do a little bit of everything. That is kind of how my high school was. It was ingrained there and carried on here."

Finding high school players who possess a similar mentality is rare, says BYU head coach Dave Rose. Along with the big man, a player with a midrange game has become a coveted recruit.

"Players who can put it on the floor with a dribble or two and pull-up from 12 feet or players who can get in the block and then move out to 12-13 feet are really tough matchups," Rose said. "We really look for guys who can be effective in that area because they can create real problems. Those are special players, but there aren't many of them."

Aside from coaches structuring their systems around the three-pointer, Rose believes outside influences have contributed to the decline of the midrange game.

"It's kind of interesting what excites fans is the three-point shot, the dunk and blocked shots," he said. "They are all just plays that go along with the game and I think maybe players kind of pattern their games after some of the exciting parts of the game."

Boylen has a few recruits coming to Utah next season he says may stir images of the throwback era with their style, and he thinks fans will come to appreciate the art form.

"If you can find a guy who can pull up off the dribble, man he's fun to watch," Boylen said.