By Michael Letendre
Is it time for a shot clock for scholastic hoops in Connecticut?
The CIAC could add a shot clock for basketball as soon as the 2022-23 campaign.
The National Federation of State High School Associations has given its approval for a shot clock in Connecticut and its use will change scholastic hoops in our state forever.
There are both pros and cons when it comes to adding something of that nature to the game of basketball.
And it opens a can of worms in terms of scoreboard operation, game logistics, and training – not to mention the added cost – for the endeavor.
Do you want to see a shot clock at the Charles C. Marsh Gymnasium over at Bristol Central or from the Thomas M. Monahan Gym on the campus of Bristol Eastern?
Some of our athletes in our city play AAU basketball and will be competing collegiately so why not incorporate the shot clock at the high school level right now?
There are a couple schools of thought on this riveting subject.
The Good
A good point was raised by Bristol Eastern Athletic Coordinator (or whatever he calls himself nowadays) John Stavens.
“Thirty-five seconds at the high school level makes sense,” said Stavens via Twitter. “For kids who have a good travel or AAU background entering high school, it’s the appropriate step for their development.”
That’s an excellent take by Stavens whose daughter, Emma, plays on the girls varsity basketball team at Bristol Eastern.
Where she could be headed in the sport, she’ll be seeing a lot of shot clocks by the time Emma is finished at Eastern.
It’s invaluable experience for her to get used to a shot clock at the scholastic level.
The Necessary
My first non-Bristol basketball assignment for the Bristol Press in 2001 had me traveling to Lewis Mills in Burlington as the Spartans took on Wamago in a Berkshire League tilt.
The first time around, Wamago was dusted by Mills and 1,000-point scoring machine Tim Russell.
And in the rematch in Burlington, what did Wamogo do?
They played the stall game – attempting to keep the high-scoring Russell in check.
For two-minutes at a clip, and with the visitors in control on offense, everyone (players, referee, cheerleaders, and fans) simply watched Wamogo just stand with the ball.
On the flip side, Russell and company stood there helplessly as well.
Frankly, it was boring.
And Russell still popped off for 21 points in Mills’ 43-41 triple overtime win.
Did that strategy pay off for Wamogo?
It did not and there have been several other local examples of schools choosing the stall to no avail.
In 2007, Howie Hewitt and his Maloney boys basketball squad pulled the same thing against Farmington to open the fourth quarter of a nip-and-tuck game from Wilby High School in Waterbury during a Class L semifinal state tournament showdown.
When Maloney put the ball in play off a near six-minute stall, the Spartans immediately dribbled the ball out of bounds. Maloney did win the game in the end, 45-37.
Those might be extreme situations but a shot clock would prevent that kind of tomfoolery from occurring in the first place.
What about learning the game at a ‘snail’s pace’
But at this point, aren’t the kids – the student athletes – still learning the game?
Why speed things up?
This is high school basketball and some of the athletes need the extra reps on a single possession.
If you don’t run a motion offense right on a certain play, for instance, go for it again and start from scratch.
Is subtracting time from the game the correct fit for this level?
And a lot of people in favor of a shot clock have never played in a game with one in use.
That’s a big deal in terms in wanting the use of one.
Coach Redeye fell asleep…again
Isn’t running the actual scoreboard at these scholastic games hard enough as it is?
Now, you’ll need someone different to run the shot clock that will take additional time, training, and effort that a short preseason worth of games won’t provide enough training for.
Isn’t bad enough that we sometimes see Bristol Eastern girls soccer coach Scott Redman falling asleep at the wheel of the game clock (or was that Mr. Jim Tetro?).
Oh look, the Bristol Eastern/Avon boys basketball game is going on and the clock has been stuck on 3:47 for the last twenty-minutes…
And one time, when Redman was falling asleep and drooling on the scoreboard control pad, I swear I saw sparks fly from it.
That could cause a fire!
And doesn’t Jason ‘Coachie’ DeCarolis have enough to do at Bristol Central basketball games?
Think about his game-night ‘rituals.’
He must get the players’ names for introductions.
Coachie must tell the fans to kindly remove their hats for the National Anthem.
Then there’s ‘First horn’…then ‘Second horn’ (if we gave him a chance, think ‘Coachie’ would say ‘Third horn’ as well?!?).
Now, does he have to run the shot clock as well?
If a shot clock is adopted, I think Coachie should be on the microphone to count down all thirty-five seconds!
The bottom line is the scorers’ table is a busy place and another piece of technology makes a tough job even tougher.
Human
Accidents will happen because we’re all human, but why incorporate something like that in the first place?
And then if a shot attempt comes near or after the shot clock has expired, you want a JV caliber referee to make a game-losing decision because the officials didn’t see the play?
Don’t those refs have enough to do as well?
Those guys are going to have to be trained as well.
And if there is a malfunction on the clock, the referees will be guessing about the time to put back on the scoreboard.
In a close game with critical seconds left to play, what a horrible situation to be in…for everyone.
Final Analysis
This is truly a jump-ball when it comes to a shot clock.
The pros and cons are both interesting and noteworthy.
Whether or not the CIAC will try to implement a shot clock next year should prove interesting.
But, either way, let’s all just hope coach Redman stays awake if he’s on the shot clock…
