By Michael Letendre  

So far, the shot clock in scholastic boys and girls basketball has not played a big factor in games, at least to date, for the squads in Bristol. 

Sure, you’ve heard the 35-second shot clock go off a time or two in a varsity contest but that weird sounding buzzer has only been needed a few times. 

For some teams, it really hasn’t played much of a roll as most programs like to shoot the ball quickly anyways.  

Frankly, to a team like Bristol Central, it doesn’t make a whole lot of a difference – at least for the majority of the game.  

“We will either take a shot or turn the ball over before 35 seconds on most nights,” said Central coach Tim Barrette. “And I’ll think you’ll hear that across the state.”  

Scores have been a bit higher due to the shot clock but in the overall scheme of things, these kids have seen it in use outside of scholastic settings for years now.  

It’s when the collar gets a little tighter, in crunch time late in games, where the shot clock is going to cause some real fits – leading to missed opportunities and turnovers on offense.  

“I do think in the final four minutes of a game, it changes things,” said Barrette. “I think that’s when you’re going to see a difference.”  

A good coach, like Barrette, is going to have more than a couple late-possession go-to plays at his disposal within the 35-second window. 

However, against an opponent with a stout defense, there’s always a chance that last second shot never gets launched or comes a bit too late to count.  

“The biggest difference that I spent the most time with in the preseason is special situations like under ten seconds and you have to take the ball side out of bounds,” said Barrette. “You don’t have a choice. You have to have a sideline score play because you have ten seconds.”  

So, with less than ten seconds, and the ball goes into play, teams are looking at just above a six-to-eight second window to – at the very least – get off a good shot and hope it hits the rim on a miss.  

It will lead to a pressure packed few seconds that scholastic basketball hasn’t ever seen around this part of the country.  

“You have to score on that out of bounds play, not just get the ball in,” said Barrette. “That’s where I think the biggest difference is and I’ve spent a lot more time with that.” 

It also works on the flip side late in games as a stall tactic.

Up five with the ball in crunch time?

Take a shot, it misses, grab the offensive rebound, and do it all over again (rinse and repeat). 

Whether there’s 35 seconds to shoot or not, teams like Central are still going to run all their normal stuff, getting the ball to the likes of Mikey McMahon (11.6 points-per-game), Carmelo Thompson and Joey Pikiell for critical hoops and buckets. 

Central is averaging 48.3 points-per-game to date and that’s probably where this team is going to hang around scoring wise until Central develops even more chemistry. 

“I’m not too worried in terms of normal possessions,” said Barrette. “I wish we had the shot clock when we had Donovan [Clingan] because of all the teams that went [to a] spread [offense] and kept the ball away from us.”  

Imagine what Central could have generated on the scoreboard every night with a 7-foot-2 giant getting several extra possessions a game.  

Those track-meet like hardwood classics might have generated triple-figure digits on the scoreboard from the Charles C. Marsh Gymnasium at BCHS. 

But until Barrette can pick up another monster at center – and four outstanding players to put around him – those 50–55-point games by the Rams are probably here to stay, shot clock or not. 

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