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By JOHN ERZAR jerzar@leader.net
Sunday, February 06, 2000 Page: 1C
Against No. 1 Bishop Hoban, Meyers tried to pass its way to a victory.
And after eight minutes of basketball, the Mohawks had managed to stay
within two baskets of the defending Class 2A state champs.
Hoban 4, Meyers 0.
“They came out and held the ball, this and that,” said Hoban girls coach
Bob Schuler, recalling the Jan. 3 game. “We let them fool around with it in
the beginning, but then we had to change our strategy. We went out on them and
made them change. They weren’t even looking for a shot.”
The Lady Argents won, 51-24.
In this age of up-tempo offenses, shot clocks might seem unnecessary, but
some Wyoming Valley Conference coaches believe a clock between 35 and 40
seconds would help eliminate stall tactics and intentional fouling, which can
stretch the final two minutes to an eternity.
NBA team scoring increased by nearly 14 points a game after the 24-second
clock began in 1954. The NCAA began using a 30-second clock for women in 1971
and a 45-second clock for men in 1985. In 1993, the men’s clock was shortened
to 35 seconds.
California, Maryland, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Washington use a
30-second shot clock for girls high school teams. California, New York, North
Dakota and Rhode Island use a 35-second shot clock for boys; Massachusetts
uses a 30-second one.
“Thirty seconds sounds like a long time, but I watched Kutztown and
Shippensburg the other day,” says Valley West girls coach Rich Nemetz. “It
went down below 10 seconds about eight or nine times.”
Nemetz says his team gets down court and takes a shot in about 15 seconds.
Valley West boys coach John Rosick says his team is even quicker. “With our
guys, we’d need like a 10-second shot clock. Our guys don’t like to hold the
ball.”
It’s the same at Coughlin, where boys coach John Quinn sees 35 seconds as
“a lifetime” on the court.
But Hazleton Area boys coach Bruce Leib, whose team likes to play
half-court basketball, favors a shot clock only if it were for 40 seconds. “I
wouldn’t be in favor of anything under that because it would favor the
quicker, more athletic teams.”
Schuler, whose team excels in a fast-paced game, remains steadfast against
a shot clock. The 15-year coach sees it as yet another way to change
basketball, just like the elimination of the jump ball has altered strategy.
“I like it the way it is,” said Schuler, who coached Hoban to the Class
2A state finals in 1994 and to the championship in 1999. “That’s the way
basketball is meant to be played. What does the shot clock do? It just makes
you get rid of the ball.”
Although Seton Catholic girls coach Kathy Healey doesn’t see a dire need
for shot clocks, she believes they might help in the waning minutes.
“You wouldn’t have to foul them and put them on the line,” Healey said.
“At least they have to shoot and you can force them into a shot they don’t
want to take. It means you don’t give them free shots at the basket.”
Still, teams, particularly decisive underdogs, have stalled to remain close
in hopes of pulling out a victory in the final minutes.
“I think it would be good for the game,” Rosick said. “Let’s face it,
the fans like to see offense.”
Hazleton Area girls coach Joe Gavio has experienced the benefits of a slow
offense.
A member of the 1971 Hazleton team, he fondly remembers a teammate
dribbling time off the clock to secure the District 11 title against rival
West Hazleton.
“There was almost a riot because we gave him the ball and he wouldn’t have
to give it up,” Gavio said. “He looked like Marques Haynes from the
Globetrotters. He was dribbling around for three minutes.”
As coach, he used the same strategy to earn a district playoff berth at his
alma mater.
Yet, he believes such tactics interfere with the development of basketball
skills.
“You’re going to lose anyway, so what if the game is 100-35?” Gavio said.
“At least your kids took 40 shots, 18 kids dribbled, they’re learning to
dribble even if they can’t.
“Basketball has a lot of skills involved. If you don’t do them, you don’t
get better.”
Nanticoke girls coach Jack Rentko agrees.
“You try to do with what you have,” Rentko said. “If a team is a lot
better than us and we can’t execute, then they deserve to win.”
Staff writer Doug Pape contributed to this story.
Call Erzar at 829-7183.