“Five, four, three, two, one…..SHOOT!” 

If you have ever been to a college or professional basketball game before, you might often hear this from the fans and the bench. This is because of the shot clock, an additional clock in the game of basketball that only allows a team to score in a certain amount of time. It forces teams to not hold the ball as long, and it allows the game to move at a quicker pace. 

Many states have had a shot clock for high school basketball, but never Iowa — until this year. Many basketball fans may be surprised or not in favor of this new add-on in high school basketball, but the coaches weren’t at all.

“The coaches’ association has been talking about it and advising the state to consider a shot clock for years now because a lot of states prior to this have done it,” said Men’s Head Basketball Coach Tom English. “We knew it was something that was getting discussed every year and getting recommended by the coaches association so I knew it was only a matter of time.” Some coaches are pleased they’ve added this new addition. 

“I am in favor of the shot clock. I like it because there will be no more stalling for long periods of time. The game is sped up with the shot clock,” said Women’s Head Basketball Coach Kris Spiegler.

The players agree. “I think it’ll be something that will help prepare some of the players that are going to play at the next level,” shared Nora King, ‘23. “And, overall, I think it will  just help speed up the game towards the end of the quarters and in situations where teams like to hold the ball and we want to keep the game moving.” Some strategies have been implemented as a result of the shot clock. 

“On offense, our coach has helped us see that if we are ahead, using as much of the shot clock to waste the time can help. That way,  the other team doesn’t get a chance to have the ball for as long,” said Emma Donovan,‘23.

The shot clock has changed the men’s team roles a bit.

“As a guard/ point guard, I need to set up certain plays if we need to, and if not, just push the ball more on fast breaks,” explained Luke Smith,‘23. 

Nolan Berendes, ‘23, added his own insight on the subject.

“I need to make sure I know how much time is on the shot clock. Also, if there is not much going on and we are in a dead spot in our offensive, I need to make sure we get the ball up at the top of the key and restart the play so we get the shot off in time,” said Berendes. 

Both teams agree the shot clock won’t change their game much. 

“I don’t think the shot clock will be an issue for us. We like to play fast and push the ball. The shot clock has only really affected us once so far and that was my fault for not recognizing the shot clock was running out,” said Coach Spiegler 

Coach English agrees. 

“I don’t think so. We play pretty fast anyways, so I don’t anticipate a whole lot of times where the shot clock will wind down. It will happen from time to time, but we play with a quick pace, so I don’t think it will affect us much,” said Coach English.