I do not know if this is even covered in the rules but last night at a game Black Teams scoreboard would go to all zeroes(it didn't have tenth)then about a second later the horn would go off. Talked to Orange Teams coach and he said the official said the timer was in tenths so that was the reason for the delay. I thought if a clock did not show tenths then once it reached zero the horn should sound? Any Feedback Thanks

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Geneva">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Todd VandenAkker on 02-17-2000 09:31 AM
There are still a lot of older clocks out there that have that infamous "delay" before the horn sounds. Rule of thumb is that it is always the HORN that ends a period, not the numbers on the clock. That's why in last-second situations, it is imperative that we are actually listening for the horn itself.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

All clocks will have a "delay" -- it's just that some are at the beginning and some are at the end.

If the clock "instantly" shows 7:59 when it is started, then the time left is the time showing plus some portion of a second. This clock will have a delay at the end. We see more of this type in this area. Often, the unit at the scoretable shows tenths of seconds, even if the "clock on the wall" doesn't.

If the clock waits for a second before showing 7:59, then the actual time remaining is less than that showing. On this clock the horn will be simultaneous with the display of 0:00.

Agreed. But it's still the actual sound of the horn that ends play, not what we see on the clock. (Unless the court has a red light above the backboard that coincides with the horn, then you can use both the visual and the auditory.)

Todd -

Agreed. Sometimes with the noise level deafening in a championship game it is difficult to hear the horn. If I have clock, I like to stay tableside on last second shot in that case.

There are still a lot of older clocks out there that have that infamous "delay" before the horn sounds. Rule of thumb is that it is always the HORN that ends a period, not the numbers on the clock. That's why in last-second situations, it is imperative that we are actually listening for the horn itself.