Idaho basketball teams wanted a shot clock. Few are using them. What’s the holdup?
Advocates spent more than a decade trying to bring a shot clock to Idaho high school basketball. But now that it’s allowed, few schools are using it this season.
Only 28% of Idaho boys and girls basketball programs are using a shot clock in some capacity this year for their varsity home games, an Idaho Statesman survey of athletic directors across the state found.
The low adoption rate comes after the state governing body took a hands-off approach to the shot clock. The Idaho High School Activities Association allowed schools to use a 35-second clock beginning this year. But it did not require schools to use them, instead adding them only to its state tournaments — and only beginning in 2023-24.
That made a shot clock optional for regular-season and district tournament games. And few schools have jumped in head-first, citing cost, shipping and installation delays, and finding someone to run the clock among their top concerns.
“It was not required this year, and (we) didn’t want to disrupt the planning and style that our teams were set to play this upcoming year,” Genesis Prep Athletic Director Scott Ferguson wrote in the Statesman’s survey. “We will discuss and implement strategies for next school year to be ready for district and state tournaments.”
Here are five more takeaways from the Statesman’s survey.
1. UNEVEN ROLLOUT FOR SHOT CLOCK
Idaho’s optional approach allowed schools time to raise money and install their shot clocks. But it also led to a patchy debut this winter, making an analysis of its impact on scoring impossible.
Take the Southern Idaho Conference, for example. Every 5A school in the Boise region is using a shot clock. But they came online at different times.
And in the 4A SIC, Columbia and Vallivue are the only schools with a shot clock. So they use them only in limited circumstances — at home, and when both teams agree.
Similar examples exist across the state.
In the Pocatello-Chubbuck School District, Pocatello and Century use a shot clock for all of their 4A varsity boys and girls games. But Highland plays in a 5A league, and it uses a shot clock only for nonconference boys games.
Meanwhile, three of the eight teams in the 2A Western Idaho Conference have a shot clock. That means some conference games are played with one, others without.
Adoption at the 1A level remains next to zero — except for the 1A Division I High Desert Conference, whose three schools bucked the trend. They use a shot clock for all boys and girls varsity game.
2. MORE SHOT CLOCKS COMING
Idaho’s landscape should become more even next season, when 66% of the schools without a shot clock plan to start using one.
Another 24% of athletic directors said they weren’t sure yet, while 10% said they have no plans to get a shot clock next season.
Most of the hesitation came from the state’s smallest schools. Only 57% of 1A Division I programs and 44% of 1A Division II programs without a shot clock plan to add the device next year.
More than 80% of schools in every other classification plan to have them.
“The shot clock is expensive to purchase,” Meadows Valley Athletic Director Brandy Padgett wrote. “In addition, I barely have enough staff to run my home games now. I would need another person to run the shot clock. It is not very feasible for small, 1A Division II schools.”
3. 5A SCHOOLS LEADING THE WAY
The Statesman’s survey showed most of the early adopters came from Idaho’s largest classification:
88% of 5A schools (15 of 17)
32% of 4A schools (7 of 22)
13% of 3A schools (2 of 15)
38% of 2A schools (8 of 21)
16% of 1A Division I schools (4 of 25)
0% of 1A Division II schools (0 of 27)
Athletic directors with a shot clock provided a mixed response. Some said they’ve yet to see a major impact, while others said the clock has created a faster pace and a higher level of play, especially in late-game scenarios.
“Teams are required to think on offense and execute,” Ririe Athletic Director Matt Harris wrote. “Defenses are rewarded way more than previously, because it was almost impossible to get a 5-second count.
“For us, because we are using the shot clock this year in nonconference situations, our kids are going to be much more ready to play with it next year as opposed to schools who are unwilling to use it this year.
“Overall, it has been a great addition to the game, and we are absolutely thrilled that it is now a part of the game.”
4. LIMITED USE FOR SHOT CLOCKS
The vast majority (89%) of schools with a shot clock this season use them for both boys and girls varsity basketball. And most limit them to the varsity level (83% for girls, 78% for boys).
But the consensus ends there.
Only 53% of those schools use a shot clock for their full varsity schedule, with the remaining split between nonconference games or only when opponents agree.
And less than half (42%) plan to continue using a shot clock at their varsity district tournaments this season.
5. SCHOOLS, PLAYERS WANT A SHOT CLOCK
The slow rollout follows a pair of surveys last year showing a statewide desire for a shot clock.
An IHSAA survey last year found 78% of the state’s coaches, referees, athletic directors, principals and superintendents favored adding a shot clock. A separate Idaho Statesman survey last year found 87% of high school players wanted a clock.
Many players said stalling strategies that coaches used to win games made the sport less fun.
“When I was a freshman, we played Borah and they stalled basically the whole game,” Timberline senior Piper Davis wrote last year. “It was frustrating because everyone just stood around, and there was really no point in being there.”
But even schools eager to use a shot clock ran into budget constraints, shipping delays and installation problems.
“We purchased them, but maintenance did not get them installed in time for the start of the season,” West Jefferson Athletic Director Dave Hadley wrote. “Our conference voted against using them for conference games because all schools did not have them yet.”
HOW WAS THE SURVEY CONDUCTED?
The Idaho Statesman emailed every athletic director in the state, leaving the survey open for two weeks. It received responses from 83% of Idaho high schools with at least one varsity basketball program (128 of 155).
