PROPOSAL PASSES to put high school teams on clock.
The days of playing stall ball are numbered for high school basketball teams in the state.
A proposal to mandate a 35-second shot clock was approved by the Arkansas Activities Association on Monday during its annual governing body meeting.
Administrators from schools around the state cast their ballots virtually because of the coronavirus pandemic. Schools in Class 5A originally were to vote on the measure during the state basketball finals in March before they were canceled.
Those schools as well as smaller-classification schools voted overwhelmingly in favor for Proposal 6, which enables all boys and girls teams to use the shot clock as allowed by the National Federation of High School Associations.
“We were definitely for it,” said Russellville boys Coach Kyle Pennington, who led the Cyclones to the 5A-West Conference title last season. “This is going to help because now you can’t really just milk it as long as you want.
“Don’t get me wrong, 35 seconds is still a long time, and teams can run that all the way down if they want. I’ve been on both sides of it where you have the ball with 1:05 left, you’re up five and you want to hold it.
“But [a shot clock] is played that way at every level, whether it’s internationally, college or the NBA. So I think it’s a huge move that will only make the game better.”
The ruling, which passed by a 183-69 vote and a received a do-pass recommendation by the board of directors, won’t go into effect until the 202223 season. The 16 schools in Class 6A previously voted in the spring to play their conference and postseason games with a shot clock on an experimental basis beginning this season.
Farmington girls Coach Brad Johnson, whose team routinely plays with a quick tempo, said he’s always wanted a shot clock. The Lady Cardinals averaged nearly 64 points per game last season while winning a share of the Class 4A state title.
“I’m a bigtime supporter of it for high school basketball,” he said. “On a lot of levels, it’ll be good all the way around. Now I know there’s different sides to that. It may challenge us coaches in a different way, have us look at the game a little differently.
“But I’m looking forward to the challenge that comes along with that.”
The measure makes Arkansas the 10th state to approve the use of a shot clock.
“I think it’s going to be great for the game,” Kirby girls Coach Robert Tucker said. “You hear a lot of people say that it’s been a long time coming, and really it has. We’ve played the last couple of years in some tournaments that used a shot clock, and it really didn’t affect anything we did.
“We had a couple of violations, but nothing major.”
Tucker, who guided the Lady Trojans to their second Class 1A state championship last season, said others don’t share his view, particularly because of the cost of buying and installing shot clocks.
Southside Batesville girls Coach Jordan Riley offered another possible issue with the verdict.
“I kind of have mixed feelings about it,” said Riley, who coached the Lady Southerners to a share of the 4A-3 Conference regular-season crown last season. “I think the pros of it is obviously, you’re going to have a faster-paced game and a little more excitement for the fans. But a con could be that it may take coaching out of it a little bit, too.
“It could also give an advantage to maybe the more athletic or talented teams in general. But I think the biggest thing for us, and what I’m seeing now, is that the kids are excited about it. And if the kids are excited, then that’s what matters the most. That’s why we do what we do.”
All three agreed the addition of a shot clock will prepare some for what they’ll see in college.
“That’s the thing,” Pennington said. “Our state as a whole is getting better and better in high school basketball. You see all these high-level kids playing and getting a lot of national recognition.
“This is going to get them ready for that next level. It’s an exciting brand of basketball, and it’s only going to get better.”
There were five other measures that passed during the meeting, including a proposal that allows varsity baseball and softball teams to play a maximum of 30 games. All contests played — excluding district, region and state tournament games — will count toward that 30-game total.
The only motion that failed to pass was Proposal 1, which called for the number of baseball and softball games to not extend past 30. That proposition was voted down 284-127.