A big change could be coming to Colorado high school basketball. The Colorado High School Activities Association will decide on Jan. 30 whether to implement a 35-second shot clock in the 2026-2027 school year.
The CHSAA Board of Directors met in November and recommended the implementation of the 35-second shot clock.
Colorado would join 27 states that use some sort of shot clock this year.
In reaction to this vote, The Durango Herald asked the girls and boys basketball coaches from Durango, Bayfield and Ignacio about whether they favor the addition of the shot clock and how it would affect their coaching.
Alan Batiste: Durango boys basketball:
“I'm in favor of it,” Batiste said. “I think some coaches might not be in favor of it because they have a guard to handle the basketball because they know that when it gets down to those two, three minutes they can make it protect the basketball. I think that will be the only backlash on it. I'm in favor of it. The game’s moving fast. The kids are already moving fast. They want to play fast.”
Batiste also mentioned that his team played at Fort Lewis with a shot clock running this season. Batiste doesn’t think the shot clock would affect his coaching and his team’s offensive identity. He knows that some places like Utah, they play a slower pace while in California it’s more fast-paced. But Batiste emphasized that players will still have to manage the clock and run an offensive setup with a shot clock in place.
Damon White Thunder: Bayfield boys basketball
“I am totally in favor of it,” White Thunder Said. “It’s going to make our high school game more exciting, more shots and more time. It keeps us honest, on running an offense.”
White Thunder said it would affect his offense sometimes but he runs a fast-paced offense the smaller team he has this season. He recognized that less time per possession means more shots for each team and more shots should result in more points for the teams and players individually.
Scott Key: Bayfield girls basketball
“I'm not against it as far as coaching and playing,” Key said. “I do think that it's going to affect smaller schools more so than the bigger schools as far as not only financially being able to come up with the commitment to install the clocks, but I think even more so, one of the issues will be finding someone to successfully run the clock. But I'm not against the clock. It'll speed up the rate of play and it'll mirror a lot more of the college game and get the girls ready faster.”
Key also said it wouldn’t be a big adjustment for his squad because they typically shoot the ball in under 35 seconds. He said his team has had to adjust to the new foul rules implemented this year but that the sport grows and him and his teams have to grow with it.
Chris Valdez: Ignacio boys basketball
“I'm kind of indifferent, it doesn’t matter to me,” Valdez said. “We would never hold the ball for more than 15 seconds if we had to. We played Durango up at Fort Lewis earlier in the year and they use the shot clock just to use it. I don't think it got under 12 seconds ever for us. From our style of play, it'll never affect us.”
Valdez did voice similar concerns about how the smaller schools would pay for someone to run the shot clock. He also said there are some teams like Sanford and Holyoke that used to run long offenses that Valdez would see in the state tournament that could be affected.
Trae Seibel: Ignacio girls basketball
“It definitely allows for a lot more possessions,” Seibel said. “I think it challenges the kids in a good way to make plays. The kids have to make a play. There's no stalling. There's no looking to move the basketball so much for a good shot. It's really challenging the kids to get to their positions and they have to do it quickly and look for a high percentage shot quickly. I really like that part about it. I like that it speeds the game up, allows for more possessions. So if a team has the lead, they can't just come down and stall in a crunchtime situation. They have to get a shot up and then it allows for the defense to work their butt off and get the ball back.”
Seibel said his girls would be fine playing with a shot clock because they are too eager to shoot right now and that he’s trying to emphasize the extra pass.
Lauren Moran: Durango girls basketball
“I'm fairly neutral about it,” Moran said. “But I do think that it will be kind of a new fun and interesting challenge if they do introduce it. We really will have to think about how we coach offense a little bit differently and then it'll be an interesting new element to consider as far as what defenses we might play as well.”
Moran said introducing some presses to slow down a team from getting into their offense could be beneficial with a shot clock. She understands it would be an adjustment for schools to find people to operate the shot clock and to install the shot clock but Colorado would have to look at how other states approached it.
bkelly@durangoherald.com
