It’s about time: Shot clock poll

It’s about time.

That’s how the majority of Gazette-area high school basketball coaches felt about adding a shot clock to the sport in Iowa.

In the 2019 season, The Gazette emailed a questionnaire to all area athletic directors, requesting them to pass it along to their boys’ and girls’ basketball coaches for response.

Forty-seven coaches returned the questionnaires, and a healthy majority of 70.2 percent said they either “strongly support” or “moderately support” a shot clock in Iowa.

Meanwhile, 21.3 percent either “strongly oppose” or “moderately oppose” the addition, and 8.5 percent marked themselves as “indifferent.”

Among boys’ basketball coaches, 80.7 percent are in support of a clock while the number drops to 57.1 percent among girls’ coaches.

“Our handbook states that we are required to follow the rules of the National Federation (of High Schools), as far as each sport is concerned,” Todd Tharp, assistant director for the Iowa High School Athletic Association said.

The IHSAA is a full member of the NFHS, and the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union is an associate member. Iowa will become the 10th state with high schools using a shot clock. South Dakota and Wisconsin, with a 35-second clock, are the only bordering states.

At the time of the poll, Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union executive director Jean Berger said, “I want to know, how would it improve the game? What problem are we trying to solve? What are we trying to fix?

“Would participation go up because it’s more up-tempo? If so, it’s something worth a look.”

South Dakota added a shot clock in 2016, and Jo Auch, South Dakota High School Athletic Association assistant director, called it “one of the smartest things we’ve done.”

Expense had been “one of the biggest issues,” she said. “We did some research, and most (clock) sets run between $2,300 and $4,000.”

Most shot clocks in South Dakota are located above the backboards, though some are on the gymnasium wall, next to the scoreboard.

Shot-clock discussions heat up particularly after games in which a team takes the proverbial air out of the ball for long periods of time late in the fourth quarter or in overtime. A shot clock would make the end of games a lot more interesting.

But some believe delay tactics are part of the game, and if defenses don’t like it, they can do something about it.

Other than end-of-game situations and games in which a team blatantly slows the tempo, the impact of a shot clock could be minimal.

Linn-Mar girls coach Nate Sanderson tracked possessions of the Lions’ game with Xavier on Dec. 7, 2019. He found only four of 129 combined possessions by the teams did not feature a shot attempt within 30 seconds.

Taking away late-game stalls and free-throw parades is one reason coaches favor the addition of shot clocks. They believe it will lend itself to more points and a better product and also reward a team for playing strong defense for 30 or 35 seconds at a time.

Recent data (2019) shows that of the top nine scoring states (combined winning and losing score), all are non-clock states, and nationally, both the winning and losing scores are, on average, higher in non-shot clock states. The data could be skewed with some states having better talent, different coaches, refs, etc.

The limited data available can show that shot clocks lead to lower field-goal percentage and higher turnover percentage.

That may be a result of kids feeling rushed and playing faster.

A shot clock offers the fans a faster-paced game with more offensive possessions and kids may enjoy playing that style more. It is in line with what kids see in the NBA and college basketball.

SHOT CLOCK POLL

Here’s how area coaches voted on the addition of a shot clock in high school basketball in 2019:

AREA BOYS COACHES (26 responded)

l Strong support: 16 (61.5 percent)

l Moderate support: 5 (19.2 percent)

l Indifference: 1 (3.8 percent)

l Moderate opposition: 2 (7.7 percent)

l Strong opposition: 2 (7.7 percent)

AREA GIRLS COACHES (21 responded)

l Strong support: 6 (28.6 percent)

l Moderate support: 6 (28.6 percent)

l Indifference: 3 (14.3 percent)

l Moderate opposition: 4 (19.0 percent)

l Strong opposition: 2 (9.5 percent)

COMBINED (47 responded)

l Strong support: 22 (46.8 percent)

l Moderate support: 11 (23.4 percent)

l Indifference: 4

(8.5 percent)

l Moderate opposition: 6 (12.8 percent)

l Strong opposition: 4 (8.5 percent)

WHAT THEY'RE SAYING

Here’s what some area coaches are saying about a shot clock:

l TANNER CARLSON, Central City boys (strongly in favor)

“I think it will add to everything about the game at the high school level. More possessions equal more opportunities for players to make plays/learn how to play the game the right way. It also makes it more exciting for fans to watch. I do understand that there is added cost to adding a shot clock statewide, but I would still be in support of it.”

l AARON FEDDERSEN, Williamsburg girls (strongly to moderately opposes)

“I don’t see possessions lasting longer than 35 seconds during the course of game. Delay tactics are part of the game. If defenses don’t like it, they can do something about it. Lots of high school teams don’t have the guards to actually keep the ball away from the defense if they really come after you. As an alternative, I think the focus should be on officials to call the closely guarded rule the way that it is written. Defenders only have to be within 6 feet of a ballhandler for a 5-second count to start.”