Shot clocks

[Rich]

Originally Posted by BillyMac

I observed two shot clock issues in a high school prep game this past weekend. Typical Connecticut two person game.

Less than a minute to go in the first half. Black is on offense. Shot clock is winding down. Black loses ball, and it rolls into the lane into a cluster of players from both teams. Shot clock operator, a high school age kid, resets the clock, believing that White had gained control. They hadn't. It was just a loose ball, that was eventually picked up by Black. Black player makes a shot a few seconds before the horn sounds to end the half. White coach complains that Black had more than thirty-five seconds to get off the shot. Maybe they did. Maybe they didn't. Both officials, one a top notch veteran, didn't realize that the shot clock had been reset. Neither official has any NCAA experience, and they see a shot clock only a few times each season at prep school games. I really hate high school shot clocks.

End of the second half. Tie game. Game clock has two seconds more than the shot clock. White ball. Nobody really notices the difference. Horn sounds, and everyone, except me as an observer, thinks that the second half is over, and we're going to overtime. It wasn't the game horn, it was the shot clock horn. Everyone, players coaches, officials, just stopped doing what they were doing, and two seconds later the game horn went off. White really had two more seconds to get of a last second shot to win the game. And then they started overtime. Did I mention that I really hate high school shot clocks?

The shot clocks aren't to blame, Billy. The officials should've been better prepared for those situations.

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by RichMSN

The shot clocks aren't to blame, Billy. The officials should've been better prepared for those situations.

Easy for NCAA officials working high school games, and high school officials that use a shot clock on a regular basis. We only use shot clocks for prep school games, and only varsity prep school games. No shot clock for subvarsity prep school games, so the learning curve is quite steep. Only about a half dozen of the seventy schools that we service here in my little corner of Connecticut are prep schools. Some officials don't see a shot clock all season long, and some only see one every few years.

[Rich]

Originally Posted by BillyMac

Easy for NCAA officials working high school games, and high school officials that use a shot clock on a regular basis. We only use shot clocks for prep school games, and only varsity prep school games. No shot clock for subvarsity prep school games, so the learning curve is quite steep. Only about a half dozen of the seventy schools that we service here in my little corner of Connecticut are prep schools. Some officials don't see a shot clock all season long, and some only see one every few years.

I probably work about 10 games with a shot clock every season -- in those games I'm *hyper-aware* of the shot clock and the rules/mechanics. I still say a good official can adjust.

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by RichMSN

I probably work about 10 games with a shot clock every season, in those games I'm hyper-aware of the shot clock and the rules/mechanics. I still say a good official can adjust.

I'm sure that you do a great job with a shot clock. I don't doubt it. But there is a big difference between working ten games with a shot clock every season, compared to working ten games with a shot clock every fifteen years.