Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/1025129
SEPTEMBER 12-18, 2018 UCW 25 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM Shot clock supporters lack broad view of implications by EARL VAUGHAN JR. There's an ancient idiom that says a man is known by the com- pany he keeps. That idea can be applied to other things, too, and it's at the center of my ongoing argument against North Carolina high school basketball adding a shot clock to the game. Langston Wertz, veteran high school writer for The Charlotte Observer, has long been a pro- ponent of the shot clock and recently wrote a story about how the clock is going to go through a couple of trials in season-open- ing tournaments this year in North Carolina. One is the Carmel Christian Tip Off Classic in Charlotte Nov. 9-10. The other is in Greensboro in the National High School Showcase Nov. 16-17. Both tournaments will feature some top teams, the Charlotte tournament in particular drawing the famed program from Oak Hill, Virginia. But here's the interesting part. Both tourna- ments are being sponsored by a regional scouting service that, according to Wertz's story, is footing the $3,000 bill for two wireless shot clocks. Who are some other proponents of the clock? Well, there's Bobby Lutz, former head coach at Charlotte and assistant at North Carolina State University. Another backer is Sue Doran, director of ath- letics for the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools. Paul Biancardi, a recruiting analyst for ESPN, is also in favor. Do you see a pattern here? I certainly do. Scouts. College coaches. People from metropoli- tan areas. All of these folks have a common ground. They focus on metropolitan areas with bigger schools, more talent to draw from and more college prospects. These folks need to drive out of the city and attend some games in rural areas and at smaller schools where the num- ber of college prospects is considerably smaller. My point has been and remains that the push for the shot clock in high schools is coming from one group, the group that only sees big-time pros- pects play on a consistent basis and has no apprecia- tion for the vast number of schools in North Carolina that don't have a four- or five-star athlete on the roster and aren't likely to in the near future. I hope you checked that price tag for shot clocks for these two tournaments in November. It was $1,500 per clock. We've got teachers buy- ing supplies for their students on a regular basis in North Carolina. I don't think we need to strap athletic budgets any further by tacking on the cost of a $1,500 shot clock and then finding the money to pay someone to run it. By the way, I ran a scoreboard clock in my high school days at West Rowan, and it was a pain to monitor. I can only imagine the headaches involved with a shot clock and getting it right every Tuesday and Friday night. I agree totally with one person quoted in the Langston Wertz article, Kevin Garner of the Missouri State High School Activities Association. Wertz said of the nearly 1 million athletes who play boys and girls high school basketball in this country in 2017, 3.4 percent of boys and 3.9 percent of girls play in the Collegiate Athletic Association As Garner put it, "Should we make the high school game like the college game to help less than four percent of the players?" My reply remains a resounding no. Shavonne Spell South View • Volleyball • Junior Spellman has a 4.3 grade point average. She's in the International Baccalaureate Academy and is a member of National Honor Society and Key Club. Jason Garcia South View • Soccer • Senior Garcia has a 4.1 grade point aver- age. He's a member of the International Baccalaureate Academy at South View. He's also active in his church youth group and plays piano and violin. Rocket Fizz Soda Pop and Candy Shop congratulates these amazing scholar athletes of the week and invites them to the Rocket Fizz Store at 1916 Skibo Rd. to receive a FREE gift recognizing their achievement! www.rocketfizz.com Proponents of shot clocks focus on met- ropolitan areas with bigger schools. They need to attend some games in rural areas and at smaller schools. PRESENT OUR WEEKLY LINE UP CAPE FEAR HIGH SCHOOL COACH'S SHOW 7-8pm @ 301 Wingz, 407 Eastern Blvd Airing on WCLN 105.7FM Bill Boyette w/ Coach Jacob Thomas TERRY SANFORD HIGH SCHOOL COACH'S SHOW 8-9pm @ Sammio's, 2623 Raeford Rd Airing on WFNC AM640 Trey Edge w/ Coach Bruce McClellan MONDAY 10 20 30 40 40 30 20 10 50 10 20 30 40 40 30 20 10 50 10 20 30 40 40 30 20 10 50 10 20 30 40 40 30 20 10 50 10 20 30 40 40 30 20 10 50 10 20 30 40 40 30 20 10 50 FRIDAY 10 20 30 40 40 30 20 10 50 10 20 30 40 40 30 20 10 50 WEDNESDAY September 14th Coaches Corner Airing on105.7FM/WFNC AM640 all starting @ 6:00pm Followed by LIVE to The Fields @ 7:00pm Cape Fear HS @ Overhills HS on 105.7FM Kick off @ 7:30pm South View HS @ Westover HS on AM640 Kick off @ 7:30pm Ending with Postgame Scoreboard w/ Sonny Jones 6-8pm