Sizing up change

Like it or not, big changes are coming to North Dakota Class B high school basketball starting with the 2011-12 season.

No, it's not the 3-class system, even though that option will be put to a vote by the members of the North Dakota High School Activities Association in October.

It's the introduction of the shot clock for both boys and girls basketball. The boys will play with a 35-second shot clock, with the girls playing with a 30-second shot clock.

The general consensus among several area coaches is that the shot clock won't change the way their teams play.

"I think it will really improve their play and improve the level of their game," said Beach head girls basketball coach Bob Waldal.

Likewise, Dickinson Trinity girls basketball coach Alysia Barman isn't worried about a shot clock, but pointed out a few reasons why there could be opposition to a shot clock.

Her reasons are three-fold.

Teams need a bigger bench because more substitutes would be rotated in due to the faster pace, and winning margins could go up because teams with a late lead couldn't just let the clock run out.

Cost could also be an issue, as a shot clock runs between $2,000 and $3,300, depending on what type of scoreboard system a school uses.

"I think there will be negative responses to it," Barman said.

One coach who said his teams have been accused of stalling is for the shot clock.

"I don't have a problem with it," said Gregg Grinsteinner, head coach for the Trinity boys basketball team. "It's what people see in the NBA, college game and Class A."

The shot clock was introduced for Class A boys basketball in 1996 and for Class A girls in 2001.

He said the Titans committed only one shot-clock violation in four games in the past two years where the shot clock was used.

As far the proposed 3-class system for basketball and volleyball, a couple of local athletic directors aren't fans.

South Heart athletic director Guy Fridley, whose school has a co-op with Belfield, said it would be tough to be in Class A, the second tier of the 3-class proposal.

"We have to do what's best for our school and not worry about any other school," Fridley said. "We have to do what's best for our kids."

Trinity athletics director Rick Gordon said the proposal doesn't make sense, especially if it leads to increased travel.

Under the proposed plan, Trinity would be in the same district as Bowman County, Heart River, Killdeer and Watford City.

Gordon said traditional rivalries would go away under the plan, leading to more travel for out-of-district games.

"The 3-class would be an increase in mileage," he said.

"I don't see an advantage at this point," Gordon added. "But we'll take whatever comes our way."