Is a shot clock coming to high school basketball? Several local coaches hope so
The start of the 2020-21 Illinois High School Association boys and girls basketball season is still four months away, but the hopes of the future implementation of a shot clock remains constant for many coaches around the state and locally.
A group of about 20 coaches — including Mark Chambers of East St. Louis, Brian Muniz of O’Fallon and Alex Schobert of Belleville West — from throughout Illinois are leading the latest push and hoping to gain support for the shot clock at both the boys and girls levels.
“Why am I in favor of the shot clock? I just feel that it would be good for the fans, good for coaching and just overall better for the game,” Chambers said. “Especially because the shot clock is used at the higher levels (college and professional), I think high schools should as well.
“Just like the 3-point shot ... I feel this is a great initiative and hopefully we can do what we can to help get it put in.”
Chambers, who led East St. Louis to the IHSA Class 3A state title in 2019 — his first full season as the Flyers coach — said he received a phone call a couple of weeks ago to become involved.
On Monday, a survey favoring support of the shot clock was sent out to every boys and girls high school head coach in the state. Chambers said the group has also contacted media outlets throughout Illinois and on Tuesday planned a big push on Twitter.
“We’re just trying to get the word out. Get some momentum going because a lot of coaches are really in favor of having a shot clock,” Chambers said. “We’re hoping to get 70% in favor. Hopefully more. But at least 70%.”
There are or in the past eight states which have used a shot clock for high school 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.”
In an email response, Troha went on to say “The IHSA Basketball Advisory Committee could propose implementing a shot clock. If they did, the proposal would run through our normal committee process for feedback, and the IHSA Board of Directors would have the ultimate say on if, when, and how the shot clock would be implemented.”
Coaches involved in the latest attempt at having a shot clock are hoping a more than 70% positive reaction will help their cause.
“The survey is to see what the girls and boys coaches want,” O’Fallon coach Brian Muniz said. “We’re actually at the information gathering stage right now.
“I am in favor of the shot clock. For one, it would speed the game up a little bit, which I think would make our kids better and it would bring more interest for the fans. I haven’t spoken to a lot of coaches about it, but I think most of the coaches in our (Southwestern) conference would be for it.
“A lot depends on how the girls coaches feel about it since they are filling out half of the surveys. Do they think it will be good for their game?”
One girls coach in favor of the shot clock is Belleville East head coach Amanda Kemezys. The former East great played with a shot clock both at St. Louis University and as a professional.
“I completed the survey saying that I would be in favor of having a shot clock in high school,” Kemezys said. “I think it will make the game more fun and fast-paced, add a new level of strategy, and better prepare girls for that adjustment when they get to the college level.’’
Here are reactions from other local coaches:
Alex Schobert, Belleville West boys coach
“I support the use of the shot clock in the high school game. The shot clock is used at both the college and professional level, and it is widespread in the international game, even at the youth level. I think this shows that it is something that would be beneficial for the development of our high school players in Illinois, particularly those who want to compete at the next level. I think the shot clock also adds another level of strategy that would bring another dimension to the game for high school coaches, players, and fans alike.
Darin Lee, Collinsville boys coach
“The United States is the only country in the world that does not have a shot clock in basketball for the 15-18 year old age group. To me, that makes no sense. I feel we should play by the FIBA international rules at all levels of play (like the rest of the world) and adopt a 24 second shot clock starting in the ninth grade and through college basketball. This will help the development of all basketball players. It is simple math, more possessions will make better players.”
Josh Hunt, Triad girls coach and former boys coach
“I honestly go back-and-forth with the idea of the IHSA implementing a shot clock. Part of me says that we should have a shot clock because that is what they do at the college level of basketball. Many of our players’ goal is to play at the next level, so having them play with similar rules would be beneficial to the athletes. It would also be a more entertaining brand of basketball for the fans in my opinion.
“On the other hand, I’ve seen many teams throughout the years that had lesser talent and were able to hang with and at times beat a favored team because of a lack of a shot clock. Those teams had the ability to have long, valuable possessions in which they made their opponents work on the defensive end and wound up getting great shots consistently. So the lack of a shot clock can be a talent equalizer in my opinion as well.”
