Putting time back on the clock

[Timer Dave]

I’m a clock operator for high school basketball. It seems to me the whole “put time back on the clock at the end of a game” has gotten out of hand. If you’re putting time back on at the end of the game, what about the other 100 times the clock gets stopped during the game? In any event, even when the clock operator is “on it,” it still takes .2 or .3 seconds to get the clock stopped after a whistle. And sometimes you don't get a whistle until the ball has bounced out of bounds a couple of times, and I stop the clock on the first bounce before the whistle (which I believe I'm allowed to do). Anyway, that’s my editorial comment, now on to the situation that happened last night.

Team A gets the go ahead basket in the waning moments of the game. I’m ready for a whistle, because I can hear Team B coach yelling for a time out. The official right in front of the table blows his whistle and I stop the clock with 4.8 seconds left. I was “on it.” Even in the loud gym the official that acknowledged the time out was right in front of me, so I could clearly hear the whistle. As I said earlier, it takes .2 or .3 to stop the clock after a whistle. But one of the other officials comes running up to the table, “7 seconds, put 7 seconds on the clock.” No discussion with other officials or anything. I don’t know what the rationale was for that…maybe that’s when the ball went through the basket so he figured that’s when Team B coach started to try and call time out? In any event, that cost Team A the game as Team B, after kind of fumbling the ball hit a desperation three at the buzzer to win. Just wondering what all you expert officials think of that. Should I have questioned him?