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Last year he was the Mid-Continent Conference's most accurate 3-point shooter and the first freshman since Lubos Barton in 1998-99 to lead Valparaiso University in scoring. This year he has already broken associate head coach Bryce Drew's record for 3-pointers in a game, hitting 10 in a 90-61 win against Chicago State earlier this month.

So it's scary to think there was a time when Sam Haanpaa wasn't even the best shooter in his family.

When VU's 6-foot-8 sophomore guard and 3-point sharpshooter was growing up, he and his two-years-older brother, Mikael, put their own spin on the game of horse. Testing each other's long-range limits, one brother would make a shot several steps beyond the 3-point line that the other would try to answer.

More often than not, it was Mikael, not Sam, setting the pace.

"My older brother was pretty good," Sam said.

He still is. It's just that his younger brother might be better.

Earlier this month, Mikael e-mailed Sam with news that he had made nine 3-pointers in a game for his Finnish club team.

Sam swears it's just a crazy coincidence that later that week he upstaged his Mikael by connecting on 10-of-12 3s to break Drew's record and score a career-high 32 points.

"Since I've been, here I've never played against anybody or played with someone that's gone on a streak like that," junior guard Jake Diebler said. "That was incredible."

Maybe so, but teammates and fans have almost come to expect it from Haanpaa, who can get hot in a hurry, no matter how far back he's shooting. Who increased his range while playing for club and national teams in Finland and shooting from a farther-back 3-point line. Who often hoists 3s where most point guards stop to set the offense.

If Haanpaa shoots where and when he pleases, it's because he's never been told he can't. VU coach Homer Drew has given him the green light to launch "once he crosses halfcourt." And Haanpaa's high school coach once advised him to shoot a step or two back from the 3-point line.

"It's not weird to see Sam in the gym by himself shooting 26-footers," Diebler said.

But it was strange to see Haanpaa struggle some earlier this season. There was an 0-for-11 shooting performance against Vanderbilt. A 1-for-8 day against Maryland Eastern Shore. Two games in which he attempted two shots or fewer. Two games in which he did not score.

Sure, a nagging ankle sprain may have played a part in his slow start. Mostly, though, those shooting woes were the direct result of defenses honing in on him more than ever before.

"He is marked. He is shadowed. He is given a lot of attention," Drew said. "It's a compliment to Sam, but it's also frustration from the standpoint that he doesn't get a lot of open looks at the basket."

Open or not, Haanpaa hasn't been bothered of late by the dogged defensive attention. In two games earlier this month he scored 52 points, raising his season averages to 11.7 points per game and 47.2 percent from 3-point range, and reasserting himself as one of the Horizon League's top long-range shooters.

"It would be nice if you could just get the ball and do what you want," Haanpaa said, "but at the same time, it's a challenge to increase your level of play. When it's hard, you need to work a little bit more."