After watching a mix of early-season girls and boys basketball
games, seven or eight contests in all, I can file this report about the biggest
change to the sport this season: Shot clocks are not making a huge difference.
After years of discussion, the MSHSL board of directors approved
35-second shot clocks for use in all classes of basketball, starting with this
2023-24 season. That means gyms that were not already equipped with shot clocks
needed to be brought up to speed, people had to be found and trained in
operating shot clocks, and everyone involved needed to be aware of the change.
For training, shot clock operators need to watch a lengthy video
on the process and be aware of several situations (https://www.mshsl.org/mshsl-shot-clock-resources).
It’s not as simple as resetting the shot
clocks when a shot hits the rim. In some situations (11 in all), the clocks are
reset to 20 seconds.
With college and professional basketball teams using shot clocks for
many years, along with several other states for high school basketball, many coaches
agree that it was a needed change.
“I think it's time,” said Minnetonka
girls coach Brian Cosgriff, who won seven big-school state championships as the
coach at Hopkins.
Minnetonka, Hopkins and the rest of
the boys and girls teams in the Lake Conference used shot clocks for conference
games last season, as did the West Central and Park Region conferences. Those
teams got a head start on having 35 seconds to shoot.
“There really hasn't been an
adjustment this year,” said Kent Hamre, girls coach at St. Michael-Albertville,
last season’s Class 4A state champion out of the Lake Conference. “I think the
adjustment probably has come more in practice, where we do a lot of situations
with it, probably even more on the defensive side than the offensive side. Just
making our kids are aware of time and possession and what to do.”
Sauk Centre used shot clocks last
season in the West Central Conference and Mainstreeters girls coach Scott Bergman
said it was a big success.
“Last year, our girls got to the
point where when we didn't use the shot clock, they were disappointed because
they just love it,” he said. “And it really didn't come into play except for at
the end of the game.”
End-of-game situations were part of
the impetus for using shot clocks in Minnesota, including several games in
which teams simply held the ball. Among them was a 2014 Class 4A boys state
tournament game between Hopkins and Shakopee that was televised.
Most talented basketball teams like
to play as rapid a pace as possible, and shot clocks will only enhance that. When
teams grab a rebound, race to the other end and score, that can happen in just four
or five seconds.
“For sure, we love to play fast,” said
longtime Alexandria girls coach Wendy Kohler. “It’s absolutely archaic for us
to not have the shot clock. It’s a lot of fun.
“I think the biggest thing is
letting the girls know that every second is precious. We get a rebound and we’re
not going to walk out. We're going to hustle a little bit. We're going to get
into our actions a little quicker.”
Not everyone involved in the sport
is excited about shot clocks. Rochester Century boys
coach Adam Girtman said he questions why the change was made.
“I
mean, it doesn't make any sense, especially if you're a small school that
struggles to get people to work the bench anyway,” he said. “How are you going
to find enough guys? I think it was something the big city schools wanted for a
reason, definitely. The end of the game is different, but other than that it doesn't
really matter.”
Coaches agreed that shot clocks will have a major impact on the
end of games, when a team that’s leading will no longer be able to stall and
run out the clock. But shot clocks also put more emphasis on strong defense.
“I think the biggest thing with the
shot clock is it's going to change the way teams are looking for a good shot,
maybe a little bit earlier in the possession,” said Perham girls coach T.J.
Super. “You get 14 seconds on the clock, you kind of have a semi-open three and
you might rip it. And then I think it'll pressure teams to take bad shots in
the last 10 seconds. But there's not going to be a ton of violations. The way
we play, we're used to getting a shot up in the first 15 anyway. And if you're
a good defensive team you can lock people up and force them into bad shots.”
Hamre said, “We’ve talked a lot
about when the shot clock gets low, that's not a time to bail them out. Let's
force them into a bad shot. I think it's a great addition to the game,
especially at the end of the game.”
Sauk Centre’s Bergman said the added
emphasis on defense and strategy makes the game even better.
“I love being able to tell my players, ‘Just play your butts off for 35 seconds on defense and you're going to get the ball back,’ ” he said. “I think it's really going to be an advantage if your team plays really good defense. I just think there's a little bit more strategy, too, which I love.”
--MSHSL senior content creator John Millea has been the leading voice of Minnesota high school activities for decades. Follow him on Twitter @MSHSLjohn and listen to "Preps Today with John Millea” wherever you get podcasts. Contact John at jmillea@mshsl.org
