The clock is ticking

Opinions might be mixed about a shot clock for Ohio high school basketball, but there's one thing practically all coaches seem to agree on. It's coming. You might say the clock is ticking. "I think we're gonna be OK with that change when they do it, probably sooner than later, I'm assuming," said Van Buren boys coach Mark Bunn. "I can see that coming down the pipeline." In much of the country, a shot clock already has arrived. According to the National Federation of State High School Federations, 31 states use a 35-second shot clock for games. In some states, like Missouri, the shot clock is optional. In others, like in Alabama, it's only used in the regular season. Ohio does not have a shot clock. "I think the shot clock makes basketball better," said Morgan Harrigan, the girls coach at Tiffin Columbian. "I love defense, I love coaching and rewarding defense." Harrigan has experience playing and coaching with a shot clock. She played for years at Heidelberg University, and later served as the school's women's basketball coach. "I think (players) will be excited about it," she said. "Every time I talk to someone, they say they want to play fast." Bunn said he's of two minds about the shot clock. "I'm more of the old school," Bunn said. "I'm a little more methodic, running some sets. But, now, everything is transitioning to the up and down and 'I want to get as many shots off as I possibly can.'" For Van Buren, Bunn said the shot clock wouldn't change the offense too much. "It'll definitely change it, but honestly, we went back and looked at game film, and we're typically getting a shot off every time before 35 seconds," he said. "I think the way basketball is moving, it's probably gonna be an easier transition than most people think." But there are some drawbacks. More possessions could put more stress on teams with smaller rosters. Then, there's the practical aspect of having someone to run the shot clock. "Is it volunteers, is it paid?" Harrigan said. "A lot of it at the high school level is volunteers. There will definitely be training involved." It will be an adjustment for players, coaches and staff. But longtime Elmwood boys coach Ty Traxler said that's not a bad thing. "For me, somebody who's in his 26th or 27th year coaching, JV and varsity, I think it presents a new challenge to us old guys that have been doing this a long time," Traxler said. "I think what it really does is it's going to stress short-clock situations, and I think we do a lot of that anyway. We run a lot of sets and things to get quick hitters, quick-shot opportunities." As far as game play, the biggest difference of a shot clock might be felt in the fourth quarter. "Right now, if you have good enough guards, you can slow the game down," said Elmwood girls coach Jason Barringer. "Most good teams like to speed everybody up, but if you're a really good team, you can slow the game down. It might change our strategy overall." Harrigan agreed. "Where I've seen (a shot clock) hinder things, it completely changes the strategy in the fourth quarter," she said. "It's hard to combat against that, the fourth quarter and the stall." Traxler said a shot clock will up the intensity. "I do believe it probably puts pressure on a defense, knowing you only have to guard and rebound for that amount of time," he said. "Some really patient teams, they can grind a minute, they can grind a minute and a half off the clock for possession and shortens the game. So it kind of takes that aspect out of it. It definitely puts more pressure on you to have to go to ways to get shots off before the time is up." But either way, Barringer said everyone will get used to the changes. "I don't know if I'm necessarily for or against, like, if you want to do it, do it, that's fine," he said. "We'll make our adjustments. "All the coaches, that's one thing coaches are used to doing: adjusting on the fly."