TIME'S UP

While the game of basketball has gone through plenty of changes over the year, at its core, it's still the very simple game that its creator, Dr. James Naismith invented.

Change, though, is inevitable, and its coming to a Montana high school basketball game near you.

In the biggest change to Montana High School Association basketball since the girls season was moved from the fall to winter, the state has now adopted a 35-second shot clock, which will take effect next season. The measure was passed at last week's MHSA winter meeting and will be introduced for the 2022-23 boys and girls high school basketball seasons.

The shot clock has been brought up in Montana many times, but only passed the final vote this year. And it's an issue coaches are ready to face head on.

"I'm not sure it'll have a whole lot of effect on us until the postseason. (But) I do think that it will improve the game," longtime Havre High head coach Dustin Kraske said. "I think it'll make teams score at the end of games where games are close. As far as during the regular season, I think it'll be minimal

"What will be nice about it is, it will make you play at the end with a lead," he continued. "We probably shouldn't necessarily support it because we like to get fouled and make free throws at the end of the game to hold onto a lead which I think in its own right is an art of basketball so the thing that we're good at as a program, we won't be able to do anymore to win close games at the end of the year."

Certainly, strategies will be altered with the addition of the shot clock, but it has been a part of amateur basketball for a long, long time now, and prior to Montana adding it, and the National Federation of High Schools approving it in 2021, eight states had already been using one, including, California, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, North Dakota, South Dakota, Rhode Island and Washington, with many more expected to follow suit.

"Bringing the shot clock to the state of Montana, it was necessary. It's the way basketball's going," Havre High head boys coach Walynn Burgess said. "We use it every year during the HIT tournament and it's a great experience for those kids to be able to play the shot clock."

"It's going to make a lot of different strategies, how are you going to use the clock and it's going to bring the best out of the kids," Burgess, who has coached at both the Class C and A ranks, continued. "I think it's a great opportunity for not just us as coaches, but for kids learning how to actually play basketball without holding it out for 2-3 minutes and stalling and I think it's going to be a really good thing. I'm really pleased that the state cleared it and that we're going to have that opportunity to play with the shot clock now."

Stalling appeared to be the biggest issue as it pertains to coaches wanting a shot clock added in MHSA high school basketball.

As for how it will be implemented, the association said: "Upon approval, schools would begin installation of shot clocks following the 2021-2022 basketball season. This would allow for training and implementation to occur during the June-July summer basketball tournaments and games. This would enable teams to work with the shot clock, teams to grow familiar and comfortable with the concept and allow for any changes that needed to be made to happen well before the high school season begins in 2022."

However, the change doesn't come without any concerns, the main one of course being costs to schools.

Few, if any high school gyms are currently equipped with modern-day shot clocks, and to do so is estimated to come at a cost of anywhere between $5,000-$10,000. That cost has certainly been a concern for years, according to former Havre High Activities Director and state champion girls basketball coach Dennis Murphy.

"There was a time, as an AD I was probably against the shot clock because of the cost," Murphy said. "But the cost issue is a moot point now, because it's here, we're going to have a shot clock now.

"As a coach, back when I was coaching, I think I was probably not in favor of it, because I always thought, your job is to put your team in the best possible position to win, and for us, at that time, shortening the game, holding on to the ball a little longer than we probably should have, and then shooting free throws at the end of the game, that certainly helped us be successful," he continued. "But now, you know the game continues to evolve, and I think the shot clock is part of that evolution. So I think you'll see coaches and players adapt to it. It's always been that way. Rules change, the game evolves and you evolve with it, and that's what will happen with the shot clock. So I think, especially since the National High School Federation approved it, having a shot clock will be a good thing for Montana high school basketball."

And many coaches agree, and are excited to bring in a new era of high school hoops in Montana. And, in many cases, the addition of the shot clock will usher in a way of playing for many programs.

"It will make us change our philosophy a little bit in the postseason and make us play down the stretch rather than take care of the ball and make free throws," Kraske, who has guided Havre High to four state championships, while also winning one as a player, said. "So that's why I'm somewhat in favor of it. As far as during the regular season, I think that change will be so minimal that it will barely be noticed.

"It's something that's been brought up a lot over time," Murphy, who led the Blue Ponies to a state championship in his own time coaching, and who has coached at all levels of Montana high school basketball, said. "I think there was a time when probably less coaches and administrators were in favor of it then, than they are now. But, again, things change. The game changes. I was coaching when the 3-point-line got added. I didn't like it then, I wanted my teams to go inside and make layups. I wanted them to take high-percentage shots. But it came in, we adapted to it, and of course now, no-one can really picture basketball without 3-pointers. So it will be the same with the shot clock. It's time to have it in high school basketball, and I think it will be a positive thing."