Clock Question
 

I'm in my 5th year doing a AA Varsity game. Watching the JV game and i notice the tenths of a second aren't on the clock under a minute. At the end of the 1Q i see 0:00 on the clock and then a full second later i hear the horn. I wasn't sure at this point i saw it correctly so then i watched the 2Q clock really close and sure enough there was a huge delay.
By halftime of the JV game my partners come in both with 20+ years of experience each and i say watch the clock at the end of the 3Q and sure enough it does it again.

Here is the question -- I debated that something was wrong but one of my more experienced partners says that's just the way it is. So our debate ranged on this fact. Before there were tenths of a second on clocks if the clock showed 2 seconds does that mean there is between 1 and 2 seconds left (which i argued) or 2-3 seconds left which he argued. It was a friendly debate with neither of us conceding. I remember vividly when i played and there was 1 second left that sometimes when you touched the ball the horn went off immediately. I then asked if we have a shooting foul with 0:00 on the clock but the horn hasn't gone off are we lining up to shoot?

Anyway just want to get some other veterans opinions. :)

The period ends when the light goes on or when the horn sounds (with the light taking preference). Therefore, if there are 0's on the clock and no horn and there's a foul, shoot the free throws with players in the lane. If this happens though, make sure that auto horn is on to verify there is time left.

I'd like to think if :02 shows its between :02 & :03.

Thats when you were on the road, remember?

Absolutely!


Not that I'm a veteran, IJS

Different clocks work in different ways. Some tick iimmediately when the clock is started, other have a second delay. Just depends on the manufacturer.

Oh yeah & the tenths generally show on the display at the table. I would verify how much time is truly left for catching & tapping purposes.

We actaully had the tenths fixed for the Varsity game. The clock was used for wrestling or something the day before and they didn't change it back.

In my 30 years on this planet and probably over 1000 basketball games watches i've never seen anyone shoot FTs with 0:00 on the clock and the teams lined up in the lane.

Most than likely the clock will read 7:59 immediately after you start the clock. this tells you that the display is a floor function.

This means that the display only shows the full number of seconds remaining, while not displaying the amount left in the partial second that remains in additional to the full seconds.

0:00 without a horn really is anywhere from 0:00.1 to 0:00.9.

[QUOTE=JMUplayer;719297]We actaully had the tenths fixed for the Varsity game. The clock was used for wrestling or something the day before and they didn't change it back.

In my 30 years on this planet and probably over 1000 basketball games watches i've never seen anyone shoot FTs with 0:00 on the clock and the teams lined up in the lane after the horn or lights went off.[QUOTE]

Fixed that for ya! Keep on living, I'm sure you'll experience it & you'll be well prepared at that :D

It happens; might even be a case play addressing it.

It could be a case of where the scoreboard operator did not turn on the tenths of a second function as well.

Majority of the newer scoreboards have the tenth of a second function available, however not always does it automatically initiate when the board comes on.

Not always will the scoreboard control display show the tenth of a second either.

Clock displays can round up or round down. Those that round up show 0:01 until the time left reaches 0:00. Those that round down (truncate) show 0:00 as soon as it is any fraction under 0:01.

Man, Do I Feel Old ...
 

In my thirty years of officiating basketball on this planet, working thousands of games, I've had 0:00 with no horn in about a half dozen games. In all but two of these situations, I've asked the timer to make sure that the automatic horn is on, it isn't, and when he turns it on the horn sounds. On the two occasions when the automatic horn was on, we had ten kids on the court for the last "second".

I had that this past weekend...sort of.

I was in an older gym where we actually had a scoreboard on each wall behind the baskets (a luxury for the level I was working). One scoreboard even had team fouls!!! :p

Seriously, though, one scoreboard showed the tenths of a second, the other didn't. I had a shooting foul just before halftime. No horn. Coach looks up at the board and says to my partner...there's no way that can be there's 0:00 left on the clock! My partner said...Coach, look at the other board.

Can't do that. If the scoreboard doesn't show 1/10 seconds, then the "tap only" rule doesn't apply.

Really? So in your games with 1/10s showing, you've never had a FT with 0:00.x showing? It's (usually) the same thing.

I've seen plenty of 0:00 on the clock and shooting FT but the lane is clear.

If you have (no tenths) 0:02 and some people say there is between 2 and 3 seconds wouldn't logic then dicate at the beginning of the game when there is 8:00 on the clock it's between 8:00 and 8:01?

No.

When 0:02 is showing, there's between 2.00 and 2.99 seconds left (inclusive).

So, when 8:00 is showing, there's (theoretically) between 8:00.00 and 8:00.99 left (inclusive). In practice, only one of those values is valid.

Yep, and 8:00.0 is between 8:00.0 and 8:00.9. It just happens to be on the outer (bottom) edge of the logical set.

Sundial/hour glass
 

Anybody ever work with a scoreboard old enough to have the clock style face with hands like in Hoosiers? Good luck figuring out time left on those!

You argued correctly.

I have a distinct memory of an exhibition game 20 years ago in a gym that had an older clock, before tenths of seconds were considered. There were :02 left with the home team down one point, and the home team had a frontcourt sideline throw-in. The throw-in was touched in bounds, the clock was started (the timekeeper verified this sequence), and 1.1 - 1.2 seconds later, the horn sounded without a shot getting off in time.

"THAT was two seconds?"

Clearly, it wasn't. So, if a clock has the capability to display tenths, get it set up. And if the horn is sounding a second (0.9 seconds, actually) after :00 reads, ask the timekeeper to fix it. If he doesn't know how, ask the A.D. Otherwise, it may come back to bite you or someone else down the road.

I had a game this year where the clock stopped on 00 twice (older small gym old clock). In both situations we were shooting free throws(end of 2nd quarter/end of third quarter).
The first time I went to table to check the clock it read 00.7 second time 00.2.
My partner and I then had the information on what type of last second shot would be allowed. Told both coaches how much time was left.
We had pregamed this because of the old style clock. :)

Analog Clocks ...
 

No, but one of our schools used to have a nonworking one up on the wall. Eventually they took it down. I bet those guys on "Pickers" would have had a field day with an item like that. When Mark T. DeNucci, Sr. started out, all the gyms had scoreboards like that.