Shot Clock Dies

[BayStateRef]

Girls varsity high school. Massachusetts uses a 30-second shot-clock and no 10-second backcourt for girls. The shot clock stops functioning during the game. Game management cannot get the clock to work and has no visible backup.

What do you do? Do away with the shot clock? Improvise a 30-second clock that no one can see? Tell the coaches that there will now be a 10-second backcourt count? Something else?

[zebraman]

If the A.D. can find a hand-held clock (or stopwatch), use that and have the timer call out "10, 5, 4 ,3 ,2, 1".

Otherwise, play without one. If you choose to go without one, you would do away with special shotclock rules so you would have a 10-second b/c count.

Z

[Stat-Man]

In three NCAA instances where the shot clock was malfunctioning, I saw three different approaches:

One school had the PA Announcer call off at 30, 25, 15, 10, and 5 seconds. (Never got inside in 5 seconds, so I'm not sure what they would have done for a violation).

Another score had the PA announcer only call out when the shot clock was at 10 seconds. We had that appen once or twice, so it didn't pose too much of a problem.

Third situation is more wild. NCAA Women's game being played at a high school because the home team has no gym of their own. They forgot to bring the shot clocks with them, and since it was Thanksgiving weekend, nobody knew where they were or if they could get to them.

So we played with no shot clock at all. Which led to an interesting situation late in the game when our team was winning and killed off over a minute by stalling. The home fans were screaming for a shot click violation. (I guess they didn't see the lack of said equipment).

[Edited by Stat-Man on Jan 3rd, 2006 at 03:46 PM]

[ace]

They only have one shot clock? not one on each goal? because i saw in a DI one game where they played with just the one shotclock. Someones bound to have a digital watch. Better than nothing. I would have said "screw it, 10 sec backcourt, and make sure your 6 feet is six feet.

[brianp134]

I would go without the alternate 30 second shot clock. Reason being is because if you have someone using a digital watch, It would be hard to hear them count down. Also, you don't know if it is being reset properly. Its easier to do the 10 second back court count.

[ChuckElias]

Problem is that, by rule, you can't play without the shot clock. You have to use an alternate device. Since MA uses NCAA rules (with the exception of the 15 sec. reset) for the shot clock, you would be required to use a watch or stopwatch and have somebody count down the last few seconds.

[BayStateRef]

Originally posted by ChuckElias
Problem is that, by rule, you can't play without the shot clock. You have to use an alternate device.

Good point. But Mass. does not actually have any shot-clock rules in writing -- at least none that I have seen.

This is the complete rule from the MIAA handbook:
66. Boys' and girls' high school basketball shall be played under the rules of the National Federation of State High School Associations, as modified by the MIAA.
66.2 The 30-second shot clock will be utilized at all levels in both boys and girls games.
66.3 The ten-second back court count does not apply to girls' games.

The MIAA also provides a 2-page set of instructions for shot-clock operators that explains when to reset the clock, but is silent about what to do if the clock stops working.

As for the poster that asked about only one clock failing, it was the clock "mechanism" that failed, not the actual clocks (as noted, there are two.) In this gym, the shot clock control is a "box" that is separate from the scoreboard control. That box stopped working.

In this game, the officals simply did away with the shot clock. They also did not impose a 10-second backcourt count, which became a big deal. With about 90 seconds to go, the team that was winning by 4 points kept the ball in the backcourt and was able to kill 51 seconds before the clock stopped..

Related point: the clock stopped working in the first half. At half-time, someone figured out what was wrong and got the clock working. The officials would not allow the shot clock to be used in the second half.


[Edited by baystateref on Jan 4th, 2006 at 11:59 AM]

[David M]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by BayStateRef

Originally posted by ChuckElias
Problem is that, by rule, you can't play without the shot clock. You have to use an alternate device. [/QUOTE

Good point. But Mass. does not actually have any shot-clock rules in writing -- at least none that I have seen.

This is the complete rule from the MIAA handbook:
66. Boys' and girls' high school basketball shall be played under the rules of the National Federation of State High School Associations, as modified by the MIAA.
66.2 The 30-second shot clock will be utilized at all levels in both boys and girls games.
66.3 The ten-second back court count does not apply to girls' games.

The MIAA also provides a 2-page set of instructions for shot-clock operators that explains when to reset the clock, but is silent about what to do if the clock stops working.

As for the poster that asked about only one clock failing, it was the clock "mechanism" that failed, not the actual clocks (as noted, there are two.) In this gym, the shot clock control is a "box" that is separate from the scoreboard control. That box stopped working.

In this game, the officals simply did away with the shot clock. They also did not impose a 10-second backcourt count, which became a bid deal. With about 90 seconds to go, the team that was winning by 4 points kep the ball in the backcourt and was able to kill 51 seconds before a foul.

Related point: the clock stopped working in the first half. At half-time, someone figured out what was wrong and got the clock working. The officials would not allow the shot clock to be used in the second half.

[Edited by baystateref on Jan 4th, 2006 at 11:43 AM]

I think you quoted the rules:
66.2 The 30-second shot clock will be utilized at all levels in both boys and girls games.
66.3 The ten-second back court count does not apply to girls' games.

I am also from Massachusetts and have been told by one of my assigners to not use the 10 second backcourt count in sub varsity games even if the shot clock is not working. We must use a shot clock in varsity games.

[BayStateRef]

[/B][/QUOTE]I am also from Massachusetts and have been told by one of my assigners to not use the 10 second backcourt count in sub varsity games even if the shot clock is not working. We must use a shot clock in varsity games. [/B][/QUOTE]

Well...shame on me. I just read (a bit more carefully this time) the MIAA "Basketball Shot-Clock Information."

It says: An alternate timing device shall be available.

That is quite clear. So any "alternate device" would do: a stop watch, regular watch with second hand, egg timer. Whatever.

[Bobby]

Depending on the unit, most modern units will have a shot clock positioned on the console, so that if the shot clock has a problem, the operator can continue to monitor the time on the console, and the official can announce proper times with the unit.

Also, I remember in the early days of the 24-second clock in the NBA, the 76ers once borrowed the 30-second play clock from Veterans Stadium for such use. One possibility is for high schools to purchase a pair of portable 25-second play clocks for football fields for use for that sport, and then be able to take it down and have them stored for basketball use if necessary in case those clocks malfunction.

[assignmentmaker]

Originally posted by BayStateRef

I am also from Massachusetts and have been told by one of my assigners to not use the 10 second backcourt count in sub varsity games even if the shot clock is not working. We must use a shot clock in varsity games. [/B][/QUOTE]

Well...shame on me. I just read (a bit more carefully this time) the MIAA "Basketball Shot-Clock Information."

It says: An alternate timing device shall be available.

That is quite clear. So any "alternate device" would do: a stop watch, regular watch with second hand, egg timer. Whatever.
[/B][/QUOTE]

This is tricky. The MIAA makes good faith efforts to articulate 'rules', but does not subject them to casebook-like review.

Using an 'alternative device' can lead to disadvantage - for example, the crowd is loud, the official near the table can hear the count, but the player with the ball in the far corner can't.

If a team is ahead when the shot-clock fails, choosing to continue with no count can also bias the game - stall tactics become viable.

There was a time - perhaps as little as 5 years ago - when girls teams gasped at the idea of a ten second count. Now it's routinely used in off-season play when no shot-clock is used. This may be the fairest alternative. If both coaches like it . . .