No controversy, no stalling; the 35-second shot clock is doing its job

IDAHO FALLS – It was only a couple of years ago that Skyline High hosted a shot clock tournament for girls basketball.

It was a unique opportunity for teams, coaches and game officials to get ready and essentially practice for arguably one of the biggest rules change in the sport as the much-anticipated 35-second shot clock was set to finally become a reality in Idaho.

Fast forward to Thursday evening at Skyline High and the area’s largest basketball tournament – the East Idaho Holiday Shootout – is underway as boys and girls teams spent the day running up and down the floor in early-season competition.

The flow of the game is crisp. The ball moves from side-to-side as players look for the best shot. Most importantly, there’s no stalling or running the clock with a lead.

The Shot Clock Era is officially here and it looks to be running as smoothly as coaches and administrators had envisioned after years of pushing for the change.

“I think some teams have had to make adjustments, but all I’ve seen (the shot clock rule) do is just make the game a little more fun because it doesn’t slow down,” Skyline girls coach Ty Keck said. “When you play in 35-second increments you don’t have time to take the air out of the ball and stall the game out.”

Most schools and leagues had already implemented the shot clock rules and added equipment last season in preparation for 2024-25, where the change took effect at all levels this season.

Most schools had played a majority of the their games last season with the shot clock and it was used in the postseason, so the transition this year has been easy, Keck noted.

“For us, it’s never been a really big adjustment because we already played fast and one of our goals is trying to score 70 points a game,” Keck said. “To do that we’re playing fast, so for us it was fun because it puts a timer on the other team to try and match up with.”

The Grizzlies actually hit their goal Thursday, beating Uintah (UT) 71-49 as senior Shay Shippen led the way with 34 points.

Shippen said she remembers the pace of play being much different when she was a freshman.

“It makes the game faster and I think it makes the game more enjoyable to play and watch,” said Shippen, who will play college ball at Columbia University. “(The shot clock) brings a lot more possessions and down the stretch it’s more competitive. In the past, you could stall for three minutes … We haven’t had to really worry about the shot clock going off because we play fast. It also helps us defensively trying to hold them to a certain time and try to get a turnover and force a shot clock violation.”

At the shot clock tournament, Sugar-Salem girls coach Crystal Dayley said she hated the “small ball” style prior to the rules change because opponents would try to get an advantage slowing down the game against a bigger and faster Digger lineup.

That’s the not the case anymore.

Sugar-Salem boys coach Shawn Freeman was also a big proponent of the rules change.

“We really like it,” Freeman said Thursday after Sugar-Salem held off Ogden (UT) 40-38 in the East Idaho Holiday Tournament. “You can’t stall it out, you got to run your sets offensively, and defensively it rewards you if you can play good defense.”

Freeman said the team became more comfortable last season playing under a shot clock and the overall teamwork is improved this season with seven seniors on the roster.

The Diggers improved to 6-1 with Thursday’s win.

“It’s more strategic I feel,” Freeman said of working within the 35-second limit.

The East Idaho Holiday Tournament continues Friday and runs through Saturday. Check the schedule here.