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DeKALB – The longest consecutive-running tournament in Illinois is getting a new twist.
When the 95th annual Chuck Dayton Holiday Classic tips off at 9 a.m. Tuesday with Plainfield East vs. Naperville Central, the tournament will feature a shot clock for the first time.
The IHSA allowed tournaments to have 35-second shot clocks this year, as the move toward the shot clock at the high school level starts to seems inevitable.
“We play fast anyways,” DeKalb guard Darrell Island said. “That’s not really our worries. We should be getting the ball up the court with as many short people as we’ve got.”
DeKalb athletic director Peter Goff said the program didn’t hesitate to institute the shot clock when given the chance.
“Why not be different? Let’s see what’s going to happen,” Goff said. “I think this is coming, but the biggest problem is how can our schools [install] the shot clocks and pay people [to run them]. When they put this out, Mike [Reynolds, boys basketball coach] and I looked at each other and said we have to do this 100%.”
The Barbs close out Day 1 facing Ogden at 7:30 p.m., then face either Geneva or Dundee-Crown at 1:30 p.m. or 7:30 p.m. Wednesday.
Reynolds said the team hasn’t practiced with a shot clock yet, and practice times Thursday and Friday were set to be limited by inclement weather. But he said the team will get at least one full practice with a shot clock Monday before the tournament begins.
The Barbs have won two straight, including Thursday against Sterling. While DeKalb (8-2 and the No. 1 seed in the tournament) naturally plays fast anyway, there are times when Reynolds said it will make a difference.
“As fast as we shoot it, I don’t even know that we need it,” Reynolds said. “It does help the game at the end of quarters. We held it probably 25, 30 seconds. Maybe they wouldn’t have fouled then. There’s some strategy involved with it. But we haven’t even practiced with it yet. I don’t even know how to turn it on yet. I guess I better figure that out next day or two.”
The top four teams all return from last year, with defending champ Huntley earning the No. 5 seed and opening at 3 p.m. Tuesday against Belvidere North. Geneva was the runner-up last year and is the No. 8 seed this year. Geneva faces Dundee-Crown at 6 p.m. Tuesday.
A season ago, the Barbs beat Guilford in the third-place game. This year, Guilford is the No. 3 seed and faces Chicago Marshall at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday.
United Township is the No. 2 seed this year and faces Hononegah at 10:30 a.m. UT beat DeKalb earlier this year.
“We expect a lot,” Island said. “A lot of teams are supposed to be coming.”
The loss to UT was the second in a row for the Barbs, who have recovered with two straight wins since. Reynolds said senior leaders like Island and Cooper Phelps, who is back from an injury, have helped things along.
“In stretches of both [wins since the losing streak] we were able to handle them,” Reynolds said. “We had some rough stretches in both games but we didn’t let that keep us down. We kept fighting, kept grinding. It was nice to see our older guys lead our younger guys.”
And even though they play quick anyway, Goff said he can’t wait to see the full shot clock in action for all the teams in the field.
“It will make the game quicker, get the ball moving, stuff like that,” Goff said. “I think it gets those kids ready for the next level, and that’s what we’re doing as educators. We’re trying to get kids to the next level. Not everybody’s going to do it, but I’m sure all the kids know what the shot clock is, and I think it will be exciting for those kids, too.”