Illinois High School Coaches Campaign For Shot Clocks
Photo courtesy of Coach Slaughter’s Twitter
A group of Illinois high school girls and boys basketball coaches have come together to create a "campaign for bringing a shot clock to Illinois basketball,” according to Whitney Young boys head basketball coach Tyrone Slaughter. The hashtag #IHSAShotClockNow has been tweeted multiple times from coaches throughout Illinois.
The collective of coaches have met every Thursday via Zoom for weeks to discuss roadblocks and potential solutions concerning the inclusion of a shot clock to Illinois high school basketball with the goal of making an appeal to Illinois’ high school sports governing body, Illinois High School Association (IHSA).
Slaughter, one of the winningest coaches in Illinois state history, has been actively campaigning for shot clocks on his Twitter account for several weeks. He said including a shot clock brings an essential element to the high school game.
"I think the proverbial answer amongst the masses of us that have been together talking about this is that we have been cheating the game. We've been cheating our players, and ultimately we think that it will be something that both the fans and the player alike will benefit. Time really has come for this real change," Slaughter said. “Our real objective now is to get this message out throughout our state."
If included into games the shot clock would help to put an end to more stalling during the fourth quarter (among other elements to the game). One recent instance where a lack of shot clock changed the dynamics of a game was during the 2018-2019 season when North Lawndale high school held the ball against Metamora high school’s zone defense for seven minutes straight.
"If I get to a game and I'm up five points with three minutes to go, I'm particularly not going to continue to play. I'm going to try to burn as much time as I can allow a team to come out and foul or whatever the case may be and extend the game," Slaughter said.
Slaughter explained how a shot clock would allow teams to play different styles as well. Typically, he schedules his team to play a national schedule which includes some teams that play with a shot clock. He believes playing with a shot clock better prepares his team for when they return to Illinois.
"It is a great equalizer, depending on how you want to play. If you want to play fast, there's nothing taken away from you. If you want to play slow, it allows you to be the most proficient in playing slow," Slaughter said.
Loyola Academy boys head basketball coach Thomas Livatino explained that the addition of a shot clock can create some exciting finishes, too.
"I think that it allows for, you know, teams not to be put away in games and fourth quarters, don't have to be like that they'll involve more possessions,” said Livatino. “It'll be more exciting for our fans. We have some of the best fans in the country, and it'll give opportunities for comebacks certainly much more than I would say, within the rules right now."
To keep the momentum for a shot clock moving forward, in addition to campaigning on social media, Slaughter sent a poll to his colleagues about adding a shot clock to high school basketball on July 20. The collective received 704 responses out of 1,474, according to Slaughter’s Twitter account. Slaughter said he will release the poll results on Monday, July 27.
Some states from across the nation have begun implementing shot clocks into high school basketball.
Recently, the Georgia High School Association (GHSA) announced Georgia would become the tenth state in the country to implement the shot clock full-time for high-school basketball - a plan that Illinois could emulate. For the first year in Georgia, the shot clock would be used only during holiday tournaments. Then the second year, the shot clock would be used during regional tournaments. By the third year,all varsity basketball teams will be using it.
Yet, despite a potential pathway toward implementing shot clocks, there's a logistical component that has to be considered for IHSA, especially Chicago Public Schools (CPS) - cost. The state of Georgia estimated that the cost for shot clocks would cost between $2,000 - $5,000 to purchase the shot clocks before installation if the scoreboard is already equipped to have a shot clock installed.
However, funding is a big issue for CPS. For CPS schools, funding is determined by enrollment numbers which have been declining in recent years. There are schools that can barely afford new textbooks for their students.That’s the biggest hurdle that exists against the shot clock.
Speaking with St. Charles East boys head basketball coach Patrick Woods, the cost that the coaches have gathered from a manufacturer ranges from $2,700 - $3,600 for the cost of a shot clock and installation. The coaches have also discussed other ways that they can alleviate the cost.
“Some schools are lucky enough to have a Booster Club or something that could fund it. We also talked about creating, I don't want to say, GoFundMe, but something like a GoFundMe page where we can take public donations,” Woods said. “There's even been talk of sponsorship as well. And I know one thing in the CPS actually, Coach slaughter on Whitney Young is kind of organized and he's got some NBA guys that are willing to kind of donate and split the bill for the CPS schools as far as getting them if the school can't afford it.”