Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Class 6A basketball teams put on a clock
The 35-second shot clock will have a more prominent role in Arkansas high school basketball next season.
The National Federation of High School Associations approved a request by the state’s Class 6A schools to use the 35-second shot clock on a three-year experimental basis. Arkansas Activities Association Executive Director Lance Taylor sent out a letter Thursday to the 17 schools in the state’s largest classification about the NHFS’ decision.
The Class 6A schools will be allowed to use the shot clock during their conference games and nonconference games against other 6A schools beginning next season. The shot clock also will be used during the Class 6A state tournament as well as during the 6A state championship games in Hot Springs.
“It’s something that we’ve been trying to get done for a while,” Fayetteville boys Coach Brad Stamps said. “It’s something we feel like improves our game.
“We didn’t know if it was going to happen any time soon, but several coaches that have voices have continued to go back every year
during our conference meetings and talk about it. I’m excited about it.”
While the shot clock is used throughout college basketball, only eight states — California, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Dakota and Washington — and the District of Columbia use a shot clock during high school games. Arkansas has been allowed to use the shot clock on an experimental basis during invitational tournaments the past two years, and AAA deputy executive director Joey Walters said it was recently approved for a third season.
Meanwhile, a group of principals and superintendents from the Class 6A schools met in Bryant during the state tournament last month and approved by a 16-1 margin — with Cabot having the lone “no” vote — to bring its request to the AAA. The AAA board of directors then met March 12 and unanimously approved the request, which was followed by the NFHS’ approval Wednesday.
“I’m excited about it for a couple of reasons,” said Rogers girls Coach Preston Early, whose team has played the Great 8 Invitational with a shot clock the past two years. “It’s how the college game is played; it’s how the NBA is played. It’s evolution. I think it’s only natural that it trickles down to our game and let it be played the same way.
“From a strategy standpoint, I think teams that want to be defense-first — and we consider ourselves a defensive-minded team — the shot clock actually becomes an advantage. If you guard well for 25 seconds, which isn’t a lot of time, then teams will be scrambling to get a quality shot.”
Walters said the NFHS approval was “a major hurdle” for the Class 6A schools to clear, but there are a lot of things that must fall in place between now and when the next season starts in November. He hopes to meet with officials from states that use the shot clock to discuss how they use it during games, as well as get with schools in the state “when we can have meetings of more than 10 people.”
Some schools also will have work to do during that time. While some already have shot clocks mounted on their goals, Bentonville has used portable shot clocks and placed them in the corners of the court during the Crabtree Invitational and the Malik Monk Holiday Classic.
Fayetteville doesn’t have shot clocks at all. Stamps said the Bulldog Arena court, as well as the auxiliary gym, need to be equipped.
“That’s something we’re all addressing right now,” he said. “I know I’m on a call [today] with our athletic director and [girls Coach] Vic Rimmer about what that’s going to look like and when they are going to install them. We’re looking at four new shot clocks for our facility.”