PREP BASKETBALL: On The Clock

Shot clock experiment begins in Arkansas

DO NOT USE NWA Democrat-Gazette/CHARLIE KAIJO A shot clock is shown during the Crabtree Invitational basketball tournament, Thursday, December 6, 2018 at Tiger Arena at Bentonville High School in Bentonville. Har-Ber High School beat Huntsville High School, 47-42.
DO NOT USE NWA Democrat-Gazette/CHARLIE KAIJO A shot clock is shown during the Crabtree Invitational basketball tournament, Thursday, December 6, 2018 at Tiger Arena at Bentonville High School in Bentonville. Har-Ber High School beat Huntsville High School, 47-42.

ROGERS -- Tom Olsen was an assistant basketball coach at Rogers High when shot clocks were installed inside the new King Arena in 2000, then he became Rogers Heritage's head coach and saw them placed inside War Eagle Arena years later.

Olsen, however, had never seen them used for their intended purpose -- that is, until this year. For the first time, some of Arkansas' high school basketball games this season have featured a 35-second shot clock.

"They were used to keep track of timeouts, whether they were 30 seconds or a minute," Olsen said. "That's about it.

"Since 2000, people have been thinking the shot clock was coming. I think it was done in preparation, and I thought it was a good move to install them. Now we're experimenting."

The Arkansas Activities Association approved the use of the shot clock, which can only be used during nonconference games and invitational tournaments, on a 1-year experimental basis during its summer workshop in Little Rock. Schools that wanted to be part of the shot clock experiment had to apply with the AAA by September in order to use them.

AAA deputy executive director Joey Walters said he received 16 applications from schools to use the shot clocks this year. Both invitational tournaments at Rogers -- the Great 8 and the Arvest Hoopfest -- utilized them, as well as the Crabtree Invitational and the Malik Monk Holiday Showcase in Bentonville, the Dandra Thomas Invitational and the John Stanton Classic in Conway and the New School Classic.

"Everything has been positive," Walters said. "I know the questions have been asked about the equipment costs and the paid operator, but I have heard nothing negative. We've had eight of those tournaments played so far, and we'll have a few more after the holidays wrap up."

It didn't take long for Pea Ridge boys basketball coach Trent Loyd to like what the shot clock brings to games. The Blackhawks were one of the first teams to get a taste of it this year when they played in The New School Classic in early November.

Loyd said he used the regular scoreboard clock in practices to simulate situations involving the shot clock and wanted to use them in the Battle of the Ridge earlier this month. However, he didn't feel the need to install them in the school's current gym for such a short period of time because a new arena is being built as part of the new high school there.

"It was a cool experience for our guys, and they were fired up about it," Loyd said. "The fun thing about the shot clock is scheme and schematics. There were only one or two shot clock violations in our games and in the games I watched. That stuff is fun, and it's fun for coaches as well.

"I really think it's good for our game because you have football that has a 25-second play clock. Basketball needs it because coaches go four corners and pass that ball around for 1 to 2 minutes if they don't think they can hang in the game. It allows teams to play and play the way they want to, and it allows some of the better teams to stick to their guns."

Bentonville High's girls played four of their seven first games with the shot clock in use. Tiger Arena doesn't have shot clocks installed, so coach Tom Halbmaier had two portable clocks placed on each side of the court and used them during the Crabtree Invitational.

There were seven shot clock violations in the eight games played during the Crabtree Invitational. Bentonville then used them again when it hosted the Malik Monk Holiday Showcase -- which featured Fayetteville vs. Little Rock Christian and Fort Smith Northside vs. Bentonville -- and no shot clock violations occured in those two games.

"Having a shot clock has put a real positive impact on the game," Halbmaier said. "It forces a team to play a little bit faster and forces teams to close out every possession and not just the quarters. It lets kids make plays, and for fans, I think it makes it more enjoyable to watch because of that added dynamic to the girls game.

"I think half of those shot clock violations during the Crabtree was because of a deflection. It forced an inbounds play and teams aren't accustomed to the shot clock. For the most part, I think teams adjusted to it well and it didn't have an impact on the actual game. It won't affect the game right now."

Even Olsen, whose Heritage teams have been known for a deliberate style of play at times, welcomes the change to the game. The War Eagles experienced the shot clock during the Arvest Hoopfest and had four shot clock violations over five games, but Olsen likes what it adds to the game because teams aren't forced to foul as much in hopes of getting back into the game in the final moments.

He also believes it adds measures of safety to the game, particularly in those closing moments when the game is still on the line.

"The bonus to the shot clock is that I think it cleans up the end of the game," Olsen said. "You might have a time where you're behind seven or eight points with 4 or 5 minutes left, and that would cause a team to start fouling. When they start fouling, you could get people hurt.

"The cleaning up of the end of a game is injury prevention, and it gives a team a chance to play defense for 35 seconds instead of going out and hacking somebody."

The major drawback of the shot clock is the expense. They cost between $2,000 to $4,000 apiece, then the opertor has to man the clock during games. Another concern expressed is that gives referees something else to keep up with during games.

Trey Preiur experienced it for the first time as an official when the shot clocks were used during Tuesday's games between Bentonville West and Tulsa (Okla.) Bishop Kelley, but he didn't see it as much of a problem.

"Our officiating crew spent about 10 minutes talking about it before the games started," he said. "We went over when the shot clocks reset and what to watch when the clock started winding down. We only had one incident where it came in play and, truthfully, we screwed it up.

"I enjoyed it because it adds another aspect to the game, and it's not that hard to get used to. During the boys game, I heard one of the Bishop Kelley players say they needed to play more in Arkansas because of the shot clock because they enjoyed it."

While some coaches love having the shot clock implemented in the high school game, Springdale Har-Ber girls coach Kimberly Jenkins isn't too fond of it right now. The Lady Wildcats dealt with shot clocks when they played two games in the Crabtree Invitational.

Her reason for it is simple. It's her first year at Har-Ber, and the Lady Wildcats are in a transitional stage with a new coach and a lot of new players.

"I'm not crazy about it," Jenkins said. "We're a team right now that needs a little more time and value our possessions a little bit better.

"But it's something different and something to try to see if we like it. I don't know if it's the next step in the game or not, but we'll see how it works out."

The teams that have used shot clocks this year are required to send the AAA a variety of basketball statistics from those games. Walters said once he collects all the necessary data, he will take it to the National Federation of State High School Associations in April for that organization's study on the shot clock.

Walters said he is hopeful this won't be the only year the shot clock comes into play.

"We have to apply each year for this study, and I'm hoping we can go the maximum 3 years with the study," Walters said. "I didn't know what to expect when we started because I know the cost would be one issue, but I think we have a pretty decent number of schools trying it, even if it's mostly the larger schools.

"We haven't had any issues so far. I'm interested to see what the scores are like in some of these games and how they relate to games that don't use the shot clock."

High-school basketball shot clock

BY THE NUMBERS

2 — high school tournaments in Arkansas that had already used a shot clock during games: the Jammin’ For Jackets in Little Rock and the Hoops for Hunger Tournament in Russellville.

3 — maximum years the National Federation of State High School Associations allow states to experiment with a shot clock during basketball games. Arkansas in its first year of experimenting with the shot clock.

7 — Total number of shot clock violations in eight games played during the Crabtree Invitational in Bentonville.

8 — States that already use a shot clock during high school basketball games: California, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Dakota and Washington.

16 — applications the Arkansas Activities Association received to use the shot clock this year, but the shot clock can only be used in nonconference games or invitational tournaments.

30 — seconds on the shot clock during all high school games in Massachusetts, as well as girls games played in California, Maryland and Washington.

35 — seconds on the shot clock during Arkansas’ experiment with it this year. It’s also the amount of time used during games played in New York and South Dakota.

DID YOU KNOW

The National Federation of State High School Associations prohibits the permanent use of shot clocks during high school basketball games. States that institute shot clocks on a permanent basis forfeit their ability to serve on the NFHS basketball rules committee.

States that apply to use the shot clock on an experimental basis will have to provide data from their games to the NFHS.

Preps Sports on 12/24/2018

Upcoming Events