THE FRONT ROW with JASON ELLIOTT: The clock is ticking for area hoops

When walking into the gymnasium this winter, there’s a good reason why it seems like the offense is in a little more of a hurry this year.

While not required to be used during the regular season until the 2023-24 season — they’ll be used at state should teams advance — most District 1 teams are getting a jump on the latest rule change this year.

“I like it,” St. Maries girls basketball coach Gary Krumheuer said. “In close games, it’s going to make a big difference. You don’t have to foul as early and can rely on our defense to get some stops.”

THEN AGAIN, with the way Krumheuer coaches, a full 35-second clock might not be needed.

“My philosophy is when you’ve got a good shot, take it,” Krumheuer said. “I really think it will keep teams from holding the ball with a big lead.”

David Pratt, in his first year at Lake City after coaching at Mt. Spokane, opened the season with a 49-43 win at Boise on Thursday. In Washington, teams have 30 seconds instead of 35 to shoot.

“It’s needed and a good thing to have,” Pratt said. “It keeps the game flowing. I think most teams are going to get their shots off well before that anyway. The kids will adjust really well and it’s a good rule change to have.”

Some smaller schools such as Lakeside and Mullan won’t make the move quite yet. The Idaho Activities Association also states that it’s up to the home team if a clock is used or not in guidelines on its website.

“We haven’t even purchased one yet,” Lakeside coach Chris Dohrman said. “If we do, we’ll try to use it when we can, but we’ll need some people to operate it. For a small school like ours, the cost and manpower to run it is a little tough. It seems to make sense for everyone else, so we’ll get prepared for games that will have it. But it’s something we’ll get ready for throughout the season for next year when it’s required.”

Nate Frisbie, a 2009 graduate of Lake City High who played at Community Colleges of Spokane, took over the girls basketball program at Genesis Prep.

“As a player, I played with it at Spokane, and it was the most frustrating thing when there wasn’t a shot clock,” Frisbie said. “You’re not going to see a 10-4 game. Since you don’t have as much time, it makes you think faster and make quicker decisions. I really can’t think of a negative thing about having it.”

Second-year Post Falls coach Brian Hall also likes the idea of having a shot clock.

“It’s great for us and going to speed the game up, which we really want to do,” Hall said. “We’ve got an exciting offense and have been working hard on it in practice. I’ve been telling our girls that the practices are going to be harder than the games. It’s going to be fun to watch what happens.”

THEN AGAIN, it won’t be without its hiccups every once in a while as officials get used to the new rules.

During Tuesday’s Genesis Prep-Timberlake girls basketball game, a player inadvertently kicked the ball out of bounds.

The shot clock reset on the play.

It shouldn’t have.

Something tells me it won’t be the only time as everyone gets used to it.

Jason Elliott is a sports writer for The Press. He can be reached by telephone at 208-664-8176, Ext. 2020 or via email at [email protected]. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter @JECdAPress.