Highland High School girls, boys basketball coaches give thumbs up for shot clock
Although the start of the 2020-21 high school basketball is a little less than four months away, there is a steady and growing hope among coaches around the state the addition of a shot clock soon can become a fixture in Illinois high school games.
That sentiment is strongly shared locally as well by Highland boys basketball coach Deryl Cunningham and girls basketball coach Clint Hamilton.
On July 22, a survey in favor of implementing a shot clock was sent out to boys and girls coaches statewide to garner support that would hopefully push the IHSA to consider adopting the shot clock in future seasons.
Cunningham received the survey recently and said he was very familiar with the recent efforts of coaches such as Chicago Whitney Young’s Tyrone Slaughter, who is a big proponent of the shot clock.
“I know Ty pretty well over at Whitney Young from at home (in Chicago) and I know Ty has been advocating for that (a shot clock) for a while,” Cunningham said.
In recent years, eight different states have used a shot clock for basketball including California, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Dakota, and Washington.
According to IHSA assistant executive director Matt Troha, ‘”The shot clock has not yet been approved at the national level by the NFHS. The shot clock vote at their meeting in January failed, so the NFHS will not allow it for the 2020-21 season.”
Cunningham mentions pros, cons; but is in favor of shot clock
Cunningham said he can definitely see both sides of the argument for and against the shot clock.
“I think it definitely helps the athletes who go on to play college ball at that level because there are shot clocks. But I think that the shot clock can also maybe push out the athlete who is not quite as good. And I think that for coaches it could have them coach a little different way with the shot clock,” Cunningham said. “With the shot clock, you will look for players who can create (off the dribble) more and you can look for a more athletic kid because there is constantly a change in possessions.”
Cunningham definitely favors having the shot clock and believes it would force teams to play a much more complete and balanced style of basketball.
“For one it would definitely speed up the quality of the game and then you can’t go get a lead and hide,” Cunningham said. “You’ve got to really play all the way through and with the shot clock it forces you to keep playing. On the flip side, it also allows a team that’s down a chance at coming back if they can string together some stops.”
Troha noted the IHSA Board of Directors would have the ultimate say on if, when, and how the shot clock would be implemented.
Hamilton all for a shot clock
Hamilton, the HHS girls coach, also strongly favors having a shot clock on the prep level. He filled out and returned the survey the same day he received it in the mail.
“I think as far as our teams go, it helps us defensively because if our girls only have to guard for 30 or 35 seconds versus a minute and a half it makes it harder to score on us,” Hamilton said. “I think once the kids get used to it, that, overall, it will make our game a lot better because it will have more flow to it. You’ll have to play offense and you’ll have to play defense.”
Hamilton said he feels the shot clock will help the quality of the game, especially with teams who have scoring punch.
“I think it will help the quality of the game with teams that can score and teams that are a little deeper (bench-wise),” Hamilton said. “The teams that are a little more athletic that can score from three-point range, mid-range, and near the rim. It’s going to make those programs much better.”
Coaches throughout the state are hoping a 70 percent support rate will prompt the IHSA board of directors to consider the shot clock proposal and approve it in due time.
This story was originally published July 31, 2020 at 12:10 PM.