AAA board backs shot clock in hoops

LITTLE ROCK — Arkansas is one step closer to having a shot clock in all levels of high school basketball.

The Arkansas Activities Association’s board of directors recommended the use of a 35-second shot clock during the second and final day of its annual Summer Workshop on Wednesday at the Four Points Sheraton Little Rock Midtown hotel.

Schools, which will be represented by either a superintendent, assistant/deputy superintendent, principal or assistant principal, will vote on the use of a shot clock at the AAA governing body meeting Aug. 3 at the Statehouse Convention Center in Little Rock. If the proposal receives a twothirds majority vote, Arkansas high schools from Class 5A down to Class 1A will adopt a shot clock, which would be effective for the 2022-23 season.

Class 6A schools will use a shot clock beginning in the 2020-21 season. The board of directors approved Class 6A’s request for a shot clock on March 12, and the NFHS approved it April 1.

Little Rock Hall boys coach Jon Coleman said the possibility of a shot clock in Arkansas has been trending favorably among coaches and players.

“When you see it in college basketball, high school will soon follow,” Coleman said. “People like to see up and down basketball and see a lot of points scored.”

Eight states — California, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Dakota and Washington, as well as the District of Columbia — use a shot clock during high school games.

At the NCAA level, the shot clock is 30 seconds. NBA and WNBA shot clocks are 24 seconds.

Pea Ridge boys coach Trent Loyd said he’s in favor of a shot clock.

“It’s a move in the right direction,” Loyd said. “The kids will be better for it. The coaches will be better with it. You see it at every level. It’s something the game needs.”

Loyd said Pea Ridge’s new arena, which is scheduled to open during the 2020-21 school year, will have a shot clock installed at both goals.

Coleman said he’s used the lack of a shot clock to his advantage in the past, but he is ready to adjust if needed.

“If we’re coming out of a timeout and there’s 40 seconds on the clock, I want to go for the final shot,” Coleman said. “Offensively, we want to create good shots.

“But if the shot clock is running, it will be good up-and-down basketball.”

Rector girls coach Mitchell Weber, whose school is in Class 2A, also wants a shot clock.

“I think it will make the game more faster,” Weber said. “Obviously, the possessions will go up. The more possessions you have, the more exciting it will be.”

Nonconference tournaments throughout the state have used a shot clock, including Jammin’ for Jackets in Little Rock, Hoops for Hunger in Russellville, the Great 8 tournament in Rogers

and the Quitman Fast Break Classic in Quitman. Loyd had Pea Ridge play in the New School Classic at the New School in Fayetteville last season. “Our kids enjoyed it,” he said.

If the shot clock passes in August, Loyd hopes that schools in Class 5A and below can play in nonconference tournaments with a shot clock to help them get ready for the clocks implementation.

“We’ll try to play in those tournaments,” Loyd said. “We want to give our kids an advantage.”

England boys coach Trent Morgan led the Lions to a Class 2A state championship in March. He believes the shot clock will reward stronger defensive teams.

“You don’t want to play defense for longer than a minute,” Morgan said. “You’d only have to guard 35 seconds at a time. It would really be a great advantage [to have a shot clock].”

There is concern among smaller schools about the cost of a shot clock and who will run it. The price ranges from $2,000 to $4,000, and compensation for shot-clock operators will be up to the schools.

Morgan said at England, one person is in charge of both the scoreboard and scorebook. He said he’s not sure how England would handle who operates a shot clock.

“There’s logistics, like the cost of the clock,” Morgan said. “Those things all factor into play.”

At Rector, Weber said the school’s scoreboard operator, public-address announcer and scorebook keeper work on a voluntary basis, so another volunteer would be needed. But Weber said the cost of a shot clock is a one-time deal and would benefit the school for years.

Weber said the shot clock’s effect would come into play in late-game situations. A high school basketball game under NFHS rules is 32 minutes with eight-minute quarters.

“Teams will have to come out and play,” Weber said. “You won’t be able to hold the ball and stall.”

Coleman said it could help players in recruitment.

“The kids would be able to show how they play with a shot clock,” Coleman said. “It would help Arkansas kids.”

In other business Wednesday, the board of directors recommended a proposal that would amend the classification procedures for Class 2A football for the 2022-24 classification cycle.

If the proposal passes at the governing body meeting, the state’s smallest classification’s conferences would be determined by how many football-playing schools will be participating in 11man football. There are currently six conferences and 37 teams in Class 2A, with 10 of the classification’s teams since 2018 dropping down to 8-man football. There is only one conference in Class

2A for the 2020 season with a full eight members, the 4-4A. The 3-2A, 5-2A, 6-2A and 8-2A have six teams apiece, and the 7-2A has five teams.

Classes 7A through 3A would remain the same with their procedures, with 7A and 6A fielding

16 teams, 5A 32 teams, and 4A and 3A 48 teams. The 2022-24 reclassification numbers are expected to be released by the AAA in 2021.