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Jacks coach would welcome shot clock

Feb. 10, 2009

The Quincy High School boys basketball team has shown that it can play several different styles this year.

The Jacks can push the pace on offense with up-tempo rhythm, take quick shots and thrive in transition, as they did to almost perfection against league-leading Grandview in their 75-61 home win last Friday.

In other contests, such as its overtime win over Ellensburg last month, Quincy has shown it can slow the pace and become more of a methodical half-court team, patiently waiting for the best available open shot.

"I know the guys would like to get up and go, because that's always fun to play," said starting point guard Jay Cedergreen. "But sometimes you gotta slow it down and take another team out of how they like to play."

Quincy — and indeed, every other boys team in the state — has the luxury of picking what style of play it wants to employ without having to worry about a shot clock.

But perhaps not for long; members of the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association debated the relative merits of a shot clock for boys hoops its Jan. 26 winter meeting, and informal polls taken afterwards indicate support for the proposal, according to the Wenatchee World.

It's not clear when or if the WIAA will officially act on the idea. The organization's Representative Assembly — a group of 47 athletic directors and administrators from around the state that discussed adding either a 30-, 35- or 45-second shot clock at the winter meeting — gets together again April 24.

Girls basketball has a 35-second shot clock, but the boys' game has never had one. Now, to be clear, this topic has come up in years past in regard to the boys game, and every time it's been discussed, the idea has gotten shot down in the end.

It's not clear to see what would make anything different this time around, but there are some coaches who are for it and some who are opposed to it.

Jacks coach Wade Petersen is in the former camp.

"I would be for a shot clock," he said. "I don’t think it would change the way I would coach. I think our players would do very well with a shot clock. We use a lot of set plays and these would be very useful when the shot clock starts to wind down.

"Some people think that only the teams who play a fast=paced style can be successful with a shot clock. I believe that there are many ways to be successful in basketball. It also enables teams to play zone without the other team holding the ball at half court and forcing the other team to matchup in man-to-man."

• There's not many things better in sports than a true underdog story, and that's exactly what Keaton Webley authored at last weekend's Central Washington Athletic Conference district tournament in Wapato.

Webley entered the tournament with a 5-18 overall record and 0-8 mark in league duals, and was the 11th seed in the 152-pound weight class. Needless to say, not a lot of people were probably picking Webley to go far.

But Webley defied the odds by winning four matches in two days — just one fewer than he had won during the entire season up to that point — to take fifth place and earn a spot to this weekend's regional tournament in Ellensburg.

Webley will be joined by 10 other Jacks grapplers in Ellensburg, including district champions Breck Webley and Baldo Valdovinos.

• The Quincy girls basketball team's 49-46 win over Grandview was a big one. It gave the Lady Jacks pretty good positioning in the CWAC playoff chase heading into the season's final two weeks — they're sitting at 4-10, in sole possession of seventh place. They're one game ahead of Grandview and two games ahead of Toppenish. As long as Quincy can stay head of the Wildcats, it's going to be in good shape for a top-eight seed and a district playoff berth.

Also, the Lady Jacks did a lot of good things against the Greyhounds that they hadn't done a lot of previously with any consistency — namely play smart, relatively turnover-free basketball and play tough defense. Quincy held all-league post player Kinzi Poteet to 14 points, frustrating her with double-and-triple teams.

Finally, the Lady Jacks got big offensive contributions from both Lopez twins in the same game — Dayanna scored 14, while Marisol — usually more of a defensive-minded player — chipped in 13.

If the Lady Jacks are to harbor hope of doing any damage in the district tournament, they need to play like they did against Grandview.

Contact Doug Flanagan at reporter@qvpr.com or through Facebook:

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COMMENTS

Mr. Sundome:

good blog Doug....

with a shot clock all teams would need a "go-to" player to create a shot for the team.... without a shot clock many teams can work the ball around for a minute until they get a wide open look. 5 smart players can beat 5 athletic players who dont play team ball.

without a shot clock the team that make less mistakes will win games.... they dont have to have a "Luke Ridnour" type player to create a shot when the shot clock goes down. Sure its nice to have a player like that.... but not needed without a shot clock