Shot clock for high school boys basketball?

Bary Gould has heard high school basketball fans, bored with the lack of action on the court, start humming the theme song from “Jeopardy!”

When that happens, he ponders a possible remedy for the doldrums.

Gould, the head boys basketball coach at Marysville-Pilchuck, coaches a sport that doesn’t use a shot clock. That sometimes leads to stalling, particularly at the end of a game when the team with the lead tries to protect its advantage.

Occasionally the strategy inspires mocking responses from the crowd, like the famous “Jeopardy!” tune.

Does Washington need a shot clock in boys basketball?

Gould said he has no preference, but he understands why others want a clock.

“As far as the fans are concerned, I think the shot clock would be good,” he said. “It would definitely spice the game up.”

It could happen as early as next season.

The Washington Interscholastic Activities Association’s Representative Assembly, a group of athletic directors, is scheduled to vote Friday in Renton on an amendment that could bring a shot clock to boys basketball. The proposal needs 60 percent support to pass. If it is approved, the Representative Assembly will then choose the amount of time for the new clock: 30 seconds, 35 seconds or 45 seconds.

(The shot-clock amendment is one of 23 proposals the assembly will consider. To see them all, go to http://wiaa.com/09amendmentsummary.pdf.)

What is a shot clock?

A longtime fixture in professional and college basketball, the shot clock — different than the game clock — is used to speed up play and increase scoring. Teams must shoot the ball — and hit the rim — within a set period of time (for example, 24 seconds in the NBA and 35 seconds in men’s college basketball) or lose possession.

At the prep level, just eight states utilized a shot clock in either boys or girls basketball this past season. Washington girls have had a clock since the mid-1970s. They use a 30-second clock.

The WIAA Executive Board proposed a shot clock for the boys after polling the state’s coaches last fall. Sixty-six percent favored adding the clock.

But earlier this spring the Washington Interscholastic Basketball Coaches Association voted against the move. About 56 percent of the members voted “no,” said WIBCA co-president Nalin Sood, the head boys basketball coach at Mountlake Terrace. The vote was much closer than two years ago, Sood said, when 82 percent of coaches voted against adding the clock.

What do local coaches think?

In a poll of area head coaches, 56 percent voted in favor of the shot clock. Supporters said it will generate more excitement, better prepare players to compete beyond high school, add strategic options for coaches and promote good defense.

“From a player’s standpoint, it’s a fun style of play. It adds that much more to the game,” Stanwood coach Zach Ward said. As a coach, “It forces you to put more (work) into your offense and defense. You need to have a play at the end of a clock.”

Dexter Griffen, who in March completed his 11th season coaching the boys at Mariner High School, said the introduction of a shot clock is long overdue.

“It would allow teams to have to play instead of stalling,” he said. Athletes want a shot clock, Griffen said, “because they want to get up and down and have fun and not be controlled.”

Many local coaches disagree.

Arlington’s Nick Brown said he is “absolutely not” in favor of a shot clock, referring to the adage “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Said Brown: “There doesn’t seem to be a problem with high school boys basketball. It is one of the most popular sports” in terms of attendance and community interest.

Without a shot clock, Brown and several other coaches said, teams with different styles and ranges of athleticism remain competitive. That is good for the sport, they say.

Seeing both sides

Bill Kelley has an interesting perspective. Currently coach of the North Sound Christian boys, Kelley in February led his team to the Class 1B state tournament — no shot clock involved.

But previously Kelley coached 16 seasons of shot clock-controlled girls basketball, including 14 years at Archbishop Murphy, once known as Holy Cross. “When I was coaching the girls, I always thought it would make a lot of sense for the boys to have (a shot clock),” he said.

Kelley has mixed feelings about the issue but said coaches should consider what is best for the game, not for a specific team.

“Physically it’s more challenging with the shot clock, but mentally perhaps more challenging without it,” Kelley said. “For the good of the game, it’s probably better to have the shot clock. Kids will have it at the next level. It’s better training and preparation.”

Will it pass?

Asked how he thinks the assembly of athletic directors will vote, WIAA Executive Director Mike Colbrese couldn’t give a definitive answer.

“At this time I hesitate to guess,” he said. “I really don’t know.”

The last time a boys shot-clock proposal was voted on by the assembly — about 10 years ago, Colbrese said — it failed.

“I will vote ‘yes’ on it,” said Everett School District athletic director Robert Polk, an assembly member.

A former boys basketball coach at Olympic High, Polk said in most situations teams don’t hold the ball long enough for the shot clock to be a factor. But, he added, it would be an intriguing challenge for coaches to adjust to and provides consistency.

“There’s been a lot of talk about it for years,” Polk said, “and every level has it. There’s no reason to not have it in high school.”

Mike Cane: mcane@heraldnet.com. Check out the prep sports blog Double Team at www.heraldnet.com/doubleteam.

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