THE FRONT ROW with MARK NELKE: Shot clock good ... and the earth is round, too!

Funny how people think the Idaho High School Activities Association is dead set in its ways, and won’t consider change.

The way the IHSAA did it in the past is the way they’ll do it in the future, the thinking goes.

There was a “science fantasy comedy” TV show called “It’s About Time” which aired on CBS for just one season (1966-67), and featured astronauts being sent back to prehistoric times, where they are forced to adjust to living with a cave-dwelling family.

As I remember from watching the show (back when I was 7 or 8) is the male cave-dweller was convinced that the earth was flat.

“Earth is flat,” male cave-dweller warned the astronauts, in his male cave-dweller voice.

“Go too far … fall off edge.”

SOME HAVE felt that the IHSAA is a cave-dwelling family of sorts.

“Earth is flat. Go too far … fall off edge.”

But in reality, if a group comes up with an idea for change, the IHSAA will listen.

And if there’s enough support, they’ll act on it.

Sure, it might take a while, but change could happen.

It happened with using three-man officiating crews at state, rather than the two-man crews used for years.

It happened with using MaxPreps rankings to seed the state tournaments, instead of trying to match up district/regional champs against runners-up or worse in the first round whenever possible.

And now it’s happening with the shot clock.

AFTER YEARS of pushing from proponents of a shot clock, the IHSAA approved the use of one as a first reading at its board of directors meeting last week.

If the proposal is approved as a second (final) reading at the June meeting, use of a shot clock will go into effect beginning with the 2023-24 state basketball tournaments.

And individual schools could begin using a shot clock earlier than that, if they wish.

I’ve been watching high school basketball in Idaho since even before the 3-point arc was installed — but long after the peach baskets were taken down, and replaced by rims.

In those early days — well after the world was proven not to be flat — a shot clock would have sped up the game, particularly on the girls side.

But I also remember a boys game when Kellogg, I believe, came up to Sandpoint and stalled for much of the second half. That allowed me time, during one possession, to walk upstairs to the corner of the old Bulldog Gym, and snap a few photos of players standing on the court.

But these days, neither boys nor girls have usually needed a clock to speed them along.

ME, I’M more interested in making sure the games remain more free-flowing and less of defenders using physical means to prevent players from cutting and driving to the basket.

But in numerous surveys statewide, coaches seem overwhelmingly in favor of a shot clock, so I’m inclined to give them the benefit of the doubt.

I’m more curious than anything else to see how the games look with a shot clock — whenever it goes into effect.

Most teams take way less than 35 seconds to shoot these days.

When they don't, it's usually at the end of quarters, where a team might stretch out its final possession to more than 35 seconds — and sometimes, even more than a minute, depending on the momentum of the game at the time.

That’s usually when you hear the cries of “Shot clock” from the crowd.

The last thing you want to see is a lot of instances of high school kids trying to create a shot at the end of a shot clock because they have to shoot — that isn’t even that much fun to watch in college and pro ball.

But if it improves high school basketball in Idaho, go for it.

And in any event, it’s nice to once again see that the world is not really flat, and that things really can change in Idaho high school athletics.

Mark Nelke is sports editor of The Press. He can be reached at 208-664-8176, Ext. 2019, or via email at mnelke@cdapress.com. Follow him on Twitter @CdAPressSports.