The Front Row with MARK NELKE Feb. 7, 2013

Adding a 35-second shot clock in 5A and 4A boys and girls basketball in Idaho was discussed recently at the Idaho High School Activities Association Board of Directors meeting.

But no action was taken, so the idea never got to the point where it could be added to a future board agenda, and perhaps voted on.

I'm not so sure we need a shot clock in Idaho. In this day and age where teams are encouraged to take the first open shot, hardly anybody holds the ball anymore. And if someone tries, they're usually not good enough to hold it for very long, lest the defense pressure them into a shot or a turnover.

However, a majority of the coaches polled statewide recently by the Post Register newspaper of Idaho Falls said they would be in favor of adding a shot clock in Idaho. Those in favor said they play with a shot clock when they play in Washington anyway, plus it would better prepare those who go on to play in college.

Among those against, one coach suggested taking the money spent on shot clocks ($2,000 for two clocks, plus paying someone to run them each game) and using it to fund a third official.

Of course, the last thing we need is a game where high school kids have to take a bunch of wrong-footed, fallaway jumpers just to beat the shot clock.

We see enough of that in the NBA.

STATEWIDE, THE Post Register said, 108 of 175 coaches (61.7 percent) who responded favored a shot clock. 5A coaches voted 28-4 (87.5 percent) in favor of a clock, and 4A coaches voted 24-14 (63.2 percent) voted in favor of one.

Up here in District 1, nearly all of the coaches who responded (16 of 18) favored a shot clock.

"We play half of our games in Washington where there is a shot clock, and the games have a much better flow to them," Post Falls boys coach Mike McLean said in the survey. "Teams can not slow the game down and it creates a much better game to watch. It also forces players to make plays when the clock is winding down. And for coaches, it allows you to use different strategies to create bad shots. In our area, our players play with a 35-second shot clock in AAU even as young as the fifth-grade level. I believe the shot clock is nothing but a positive for high school basketball."

One who didn't favor a clock was Coeur d'Alene girls coach Dale Poffenroth, who coached with a shot clock while at Central Valley High in Spokane, before coming to Coeur d'Alene nine years ago.

"The gain vs. the cost is not justified," Poffenroth said.

AMONG THE more prominent coaches statewide, Cary Cada of Borah said no to a shot clock and Bill Hawkins of Madison said yes to a 35-second clock.

“There is too much run-and-gun and bombing 3s thinking in the sport as it is,” said Cada, whose Lion boys are ranked No. 1 in 5A this year, and are the defending state champs.

“People have always said I probably wouldn’t want one,” said Hawkins, who favored a 35-second clock. “It’s like when they brought the 3-point shot in ... I thought it added to the game. You have to defend it a different way. I think the shot clock would too.”

So we’ll see; maybe it will come up again someday. Craig Christensen, the Post Falls High athletic director, spearheaded the latest campaign for a shot clock, the Post Register said, with a letter to the IHSAA.

Which makes sense, since it appears most of the North Idaho schools are in favor of one.

Mark Nelke is sports editor of The Press. He can be reached at 664-8176, Ext. 2019, or via email at mnelke@cdapress.com. Follow him on Twitter at CdAPressSports.