Connecticut Shot Clock ...

[BillyMac]

From the Hartford Courant, September 16, 2022

The slow-down game will be disappearing from Connecticut high school basketball in 2023.

The CIAC Board of Control voted Thursday to implement a 35-second shot clock for varsity boys and girls basketball games beginning the 2023-24 season, an element that has long existed at other levels of the game.

“It should have been done a long time ago,” said Ken Smith, Windsor boys basketball coach. “It has been on the table since 2009, 08, 07. We’re so far behind with rules changes in the game of basketball, this is a step in the right direction. It’s definitely needed, and it will help us prepare our kids for the future.”

The shot clock was proposed by the CIAC Boys and Girls Basketball Committees, and was “overwhelmingly endorsed in a survey of CIAC member schools,” the CIAC said in a release. The 19-member Board of Control, comprised of school principals, was unanimous in its approval.

The shot clock will be mandatory for varsity contests, and will have to be operated by an adult. It will be optional for freshman and JV contests, and if used, not mandatory than an adult operate it for those contests.

“I think it’s a long time coming,” said Mary Roickle, girls basketball coach at E.O. Smith in Storrs.

“Although it would alter some coaches’ strategies, it would be a level playing field and kids would know they have X number of seconds and we’d be able to really have competitive games vs. some things in the past that I’ve seen where you just hold on to the ball and stand at half court. Is that basketball, is that competition? It changes the pace of the game, and I love it.”

The NBA implemented a 24-second shot clock in 1954, and it immediately resulted in more action and scoring. The NCAA adopted a 45-second shot clock in 1985, later shortening possession time to 35 seconds, and then 30. The WNBA uses a 24-second clock, as does international basketball.

The National Federation of High Schools approved a 35-second clock in 2021. Eight states were using it at that time. While some states model their rules on the NCAA or other organizations, the CIAC has traditionally followed all NFHS rules 100 percent, so once the NFHS green-lighted the shot clock, the CIAC began the process. The boys and girls committees signaled their approval in September 2021.

“It trickles down from the higher levels,” said Northwest Catholic-West Hartford boys coach John Mirabello. “It’s part of the game now, and it’s great for the kids to have some uniformity in that sense. You still can grind a lot of clock, wear clock down and hold the ball; 35 seconds is a long time to hold the ball anyway without something happening. You know you have to get a shot off in a certain amount of time but you can use a good amount of that clock and still control pace. The excitement for the coaches is the strategy that comes involved with that. It’s just fun.”

The original proposal was for the shot clock to be used at all three levels, and be implemented in 2022. Feedback from schools led to the one-year phase-in to the 2023-24 season, and the varsity only implementation to allow time adjust budgets to purchase equipment and hire and train officials to operate the clock.

“This is something our coaches have wanted for a long time,” said Gregg Simon, the CIAC’s associate executive director and liaison to the basketball committees. “They have always been the driving force behind change. They’re going to be excited about teaching the strategy at the end of the quarter, half, game, and not have to rely on fouling to stop the clock the way it has been done for a long time. It’s going to be a newer kind of game. At the end of the half and the end of the game, it becomes very consequential in determining the outcome of the game if you’re able to play really good defense.”

[BillyMac]

Now if we could just get Connecticut coaches, athletic directors, and principals to agree to three officials ...

[BillyMac]

California, Connecticut, Georgia, Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Montana, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, and Washington. And the District of Columbia.

[BillyMac]

Stall tactics to limit big man George Mikan led to the shot clock's creation by the NBA. The NBA had problems attracting fans (and positive media coverage) before the shot clock's inception. Teams in the lead were running out the clock, passing the ball incessantly. The trailing team could do nothing but commit fouls to recover possession following the free throw. Frequent low-scoring games with many fouls bored fans. The most extreme case occurred on November 22, 1950, when the Fort Wayne Pistons defeated the Minneapolis Lakers by a record-low score of 19–18, including 3–1 in the fourth quarter. The Pistons held the ball for minutes at a time without shooting (they attempted 13 shots for the game) to limit the impact of the Lakers' dominant George Mikan. A few weeks after the Pistons/Lakers game, the Rochester Royals and Indianapolis Olympians played a six-overtime game with only one shot in each overtime: in each overtime period, the team that had the ball first held it for the entirety of the period before attempting a last-second shot.

Danny Biasone was the owner of the Syracuse Nationals. Biasone was convinced the problem could be fixed by capping the amount of time a team could possess the ball before attempting a shot. On April 22, 1954, facing a scoring drought of epic proportions, NBA owners voted to implement a 24-second shot clock. The decision changed the league and the game of basketball.

In men's collegiate basketball, there was initial resistance to the implementation of a shot clock for men's NCAA basketball, due to fears that smaller colleges would be unable to compete with powerhouses in a running game. However, after extreme results like an 11–6 Tennessee win over Temple in 1973, support for a men's shot clock began to build. The NCAA introduced a 45-second shot clock for the 1985-86 season. It was reduced to 35 seconds in the 1993–94 season, and to 30 seconds in the 2015–16 season. In the spring of 2021 the NFHS agreed to allow its member associations the option of a shot clock, with a mandatory 35-second duration, starting in 2022-2023.

[Mark T. DeNucci, Sr.]

Since I started officiating in 1971, millions and millions of H.S. basketball games have been played. How many have been full on slow down games? I would bet dollars to donuts that the percentage would be barely above 0%.

If the powers that be want to have a Shot Clock at the college and professional level let them. Why? Because players are recruited at the college level and players get drafted or signed as free agents at the professional level. But at the H.S. level schools have to play with what lives in their districts. Some schools are blessed with great players and some are not blessed with players. Taking the air out of the Ball is the great equalizer some time.

Once or twice every three to five years a complete slow down H.S. game makes the national news and the talking "knuckle" heads fill the air waves with much gnashing of teeth about how terrible it was. Who cares? The game officials had a night off so to speak and got paid for it.

MTD, Sr.

[Raymond]

Agree with Mark on why we have shot clocks at higher levels but don't need them in high school.

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by Mark T. DeNucci, Sr.

Since I started officiating in 1971, millions and millions of H.S. basketball games have been played. How many have been full on slow down games? I would bet dollars to donuts that the percentage would be barely above 0%.

Originally Posted by Raymond

Agree with Mark on why we have shot clocks at higher levels but don't need them in high school.

Over forty years for me. Only once observed a "from the get go" slow down game, a varsity game after my junior varsity game. Completely over matched small school against a big city school. Small school did lose, but gave itself a chance with a final score that ended up in the teens. Everybody in the stands was on the edge of their seats for the entire game.

Small school coach's son coached a state championship team last year. His dad passed many years ago. I spoke to the son at our referee banquet last year. He remembers that game, his older brother played in that game, and it was one of their best memories of their father coaching.

[ilyazhito]

Originally Posted by BillyMac

Now if we could just get Connecticut coaches, athletic directors, and principals to agree to three officials ...

From your lips to God's ears. Until this gets changed, I would refuse any job that would have me move to Connecticut. That, or else I'd switch to officiating hockey in the winter.

Adding the shot clock is an overdue and necessary move that will improve the game.

[JRutledge]

I do not think it is too hard for kid to play with a shot clock at the high school level. Yes, higher levels are recruiting or making decisions about players who come to their program, that is not the standard at the high school level. But just like anything else in the game, there are things that you can teach to be effective in the rules that are in front of you. The shot clock to me is not much harder than other rules we use for a player to adjust to. And since the style of play in the game is often where the shot clock would not be needed, I have no issues from that standpoint. I have always felt the issue would be the official that have to stay on top of issues with the clock because we will have people running the shot clock that will not understand the rules. But the players are the least of my concern.


Peace

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by JRutledge

I do not think it is too hard for kid to play with a shot clock at the high school level. The shot clock to me is not much harder than other rules we use for a player to adjust to ... But the players are the least of my concern.

Agree 100%. Players always gonna play.

Originally Posted by JRutledge

I have always felt the issue would be the official that have to stay on top of issues with the clock because we will have people running the shot clock that will not understand the rules.

Also agree. Three problems I'm worried about:

1) Table personnel. I've worked Connecticut private prep school games with shot clocks over the past forty years. Seems that every single game there was a shot clock issue due to poor training or lack of attention to details.

2) My partners. Working Connecticut private prep school games with shot clock games, the best shot clock partners were those with NCAA experience, but even some of those were shaky at best.

3) Me. Old dog, new tricks. I now work mostly middle school games, where there will probably not be Connecticut shot clocks (expense of clocks, expense of timers), but I usually work a handful of freshman or junior varsity games every year, where there may be shot clocks. They say that practice makes perfect. I'm just not sure that I will get enough "practice" (shot clock experience) to be considered an "expert" deserving of a paycheck. There's a limit to how much one can become proficient at something after just studying a book.

[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by BillyMac

Also agree. Three problems I'm worried about:

1) Table personnel. I've worked Connecticut private prep school games with shot clocks over the past forty years. Seems that every single game there was a shot clock issue due to poor training or lack of attention to details.

I do small college and we have shot clock issues all the time. Some are not a big deal, many are a very big deal. We deal with it and move on.

Originally Posted by BillyMac

2) My partners. Working Connecticut private prep school games with shot clock games, the best shot clock partners were those with NCAA experience, but even some of those were shaky at best.

Of course. We have to become better clock people anyway. I remember when people say 3 Person was too hard and people learned it now many things we do are not even thought of. It is just like officiating anything else.

Originally Posted by BillyMac

3) Me. Old dog, new tricks. I now work mostly middle school games, where there will probably not be Connecticut shot clocks (expense of clocks, expense of timers), but I usually work a handful of freshman or junior varsity games every year, where there may be shot clocks. They say that practice makes perfect. I'm just not sure that I will get enough "practice" (shot clock experience) to be considered an "expert" deserving of a paycheck. There's a limit to how much one can become proficient at something after just studying a book.

With all due respect, I doubt they are seriously bringing a shot clock to middle school. I would even suspect that lower levels are not doing any shot clock for obvious reasons.

Peace

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by JRutledge

I doubt they are seriously bringing a shot clock to middle school. I would even suspect that lower levels are not doing any shot clock for obvious reasons.

Regarding middle school, agree 100%.

Connecticut freshman and junior varsity games will have the shot clock as an option that could vary from school to school and/or league/conference to league/conference.

[Lcubed48]

IMO, high school can exist just fine without a shot clock because in today's game most shots happen prior to the end of timed period. However, after last season I'm not that opposed to its implementation here in Virginia. As a matter of fact, a lot of the bigger private schools do use a shot clock in their varsity games. I had 5 or 6 shot clock games last year with no issues. Actually, I kind of liked it once I got used to it. This old dog can learn new tricks.

In my very first shot clock game ever, the home team committed a shot clock violation in its very first possessions of the game. They also ended up be blown out, but because it wasn't a public-school game there was no running clock at any point.

[ilyazhito]

Originally Posted by JRutledge

I do small college and we have shot clock issues all the time. Some are not a big deal, many are a very big deal. We deal with it and move on.



Of course. We have to become better clock people anyway. I remember when people say 3 Person was too hard and people learned it now many things we do are not even thought of. It is just like officiating anything else.



With all due respect, I doubt they are seriously bringing a shot clock to middle school. I would even suspect that lower levels are not doing any shot clock for obvious reasons.

Peace

That was never on the table in DC or MD. Shot clocks were strictly for HS. In DC, shot clocks are mandatory for varsity, but optional at the JV level (public schools only have boys JV, though Wilson also has girls JV and boys freshman teams as club teams). In MD, shot clocks are used for varsity, JV, and freshman (where freshman teams exist) games.