Southern Lab will play for a high school basketball championship in Louisiana after exploiting a lack of shot clock to pull a come-from-behind victory during an instant classic at the LHSAA Boys Basketball Tournament semifinal on Monday night. The Kittens refused to move for more than three consecutive minutes!
Something must be done to stop this epidemic of shot clock-less hoops. Even though it is an effective and completely legal strategy, it is excruciating to watch.
This is the second time this week that we have seen a need for a shot clock in high school basketball. I genuinely cannot wrap my head around the reasons for why every school in every state is not mandated to install a shot clock in its gym in the year 2025. There is no way that it would make that big of a difference in the grand scheme of things. Not having one is having a bigger impact when it matters most.
The two primary explanations I have heard for the lack of shot clock are as follow:
- Bad teams are forced to take even more bad shots with a shot clock so scores will get even more out of hand.
- Some coaches don’t believe a shot clock would increase the level of play.
- The cost of installing and operating shot clocks can be prohibitive for smaller schools.
- Installing adequate shot clock systems can cost thousands of dollars.
- An extra official would need to be hired for every game to watch the clock.
The main argument for this rule to change stems from what happened in Illinois over the weekend and in Louisiana on Monday night. Teams are allowed to hold the ball for as long as they want without shooting.
Southern University Laboratory School, out of Baton Rouge, faced No. 2-ranked Lincoln Preparatory School, out of Grambling, in the Division IV semifinal of the LHSAA boys basketball tournament at Burton Coliseum. The Kittens could not get anything going against the Panthers’ zone defense in the first half.
To counteract the offensive struggles, Southern Lab decided to park the bus right before halftime. It picked up the ball near half court and stood completely still for more than three minutes. Nobody moved!
(X, formerly Twitter, is down but you can watch the video here.)
Lincoln Prep did not have an answer for the infuriating strategy. It stayed in a zone and allowed the offense to completely run out the clock without playing any defense or trying to disrupt the flow.
(X, formerly Twitter, is still down but you can watch the video here.)
The Panthers paid the price for their unwillingness to defend. The Kittens made adjustments at halftime, actually played real basketball during the second half, and won by six.
Southern Lab scored only 15 points in the first half while refusing to shoot. It more than tripled that total during the second half with a final score of 51-46. And that’s what makes the lack of shot clock so frustrating. This is not to discredit the well-earned win. I just wonder if/how things would’ve gone differently if high school basketball teams in Louisiana were required to shoot within a time limit.
And to make it even worse, the Kittens did the same thing during their quarterfinal game. And they are not the only team to do it!
A high school in Illinois pulled a massive upset by standing still for more than SEVEN minutes on Friday. Double the amount of time as Southern Lab! The completely strategy ultimately proved successful for both teams but made for a horrible product. It is long past time to require every high school basketball team in the country to use a shot clock. I can’t believe we are here.