The shot clock is almost officially here, and no lead is safe.

Hide the hesitant shooter.

“Its time has come,” former Jacobs boys basketball coach Jim Hinkle said at his own Hinkle Holiday Classic last week. “I really love it.”

For the first time in the history of Jacobs’ holiday tournament, which dates back to the start of the century, the Hinkle Holiday Classic employed a 35-second shot clock, which will be mandatory in IHSA varsity games next season.

Many holiday tournaments throughout the state this season, going back to Thanksgiving tourneys, have been giving sneak peeks of what games will look like with the shot clock.

“We like it,” said Cary-Grove coach Adam McCloud, whose Trojans also played with the shot clock at Johnsburg’s Thanksgiving tournament. “We like to play up-tempo.”

Cary-Grove’s only loss at Jacobs was to Naperville North, 65-48, on Day 2 of the tournament.

“I think what Naperville [North] does is they make you work the whole shot clock,” McCloud said. “It’s difficult. Going against a zone, if you have a minute, you can probably break it down with some ball movement.”

Jacobs saw the potential impact of the shot clock in its game Friday against Boylan. The Golden Eagles trailed 45-27 after three quarters but needed only six minutes to wipe out their 18-point deficit, with guard Elijah Bell scoring 13 of his 21 points, before losing 50-47.

“It was either between the third and fourth quarters or an early timeout in the fourth,” Jacobs coach Jimmy Roberts said. “I said to our guys, ‘This is different than what we’re used to. There are going to be a lot of possessions, so we’re going to have an opportunity to get back in the game. We’re going to have to stack up some stops, but there are more possessions.’ ”

While Jacobs benefitted from the shot clock against Boylan, Prairie Ridge saw how it can work to the disadvantage of a team trying to protect a late-game lead.

The Wolves were on the verge of stunning No. 2 seed Geneva on Day 1 of the tourney. Prairie Ridge led 46-43 after three quarters and still held the lead with about two minutes left in the fourth. The Wolves couldn’t hold the ball and spread the floor, however. The shot clock forced them to shoot, and Geneva won 57-55 at the horn.

“Now [with the shot clock],” Roberts said, “you really got to keep playing.”

Good defense, in those cases, should be rewarded.

Hinkle has long been a proponent of the shot clock.

“I love it because, at the end of games, if you’re losing by three or four, you don’t have to foul,” said Hinkle, 83, who retired from coaching after the 2012-13 season but remains active with the Hinkle Holiday Classic as a color analyst for the live-streamed games on YouTube. “You just have to play good defense, and you’re going to win the game. ... It really changes the game in situations like that, and I like that. It keeps the flow going.”

There were a few shot-clock violations in the tournament, but Roberts thought the games were higher-scoring compared to past seasons.

With usually at least four players on the court who aren’t shy about shooting 3-pointers, Johnsburg is a team that scores plenty. The Skyhawks move the ball and launch. They averaged 64.5 points in winning the championship of the consolation bracket at Jacobs.

Johnsburg did have one shot-clock violation in its 71-61 win over Boylan, a Day 3 game in which the Skyhawks shot 13 of 33 (39%) from beyond the arc.

“To be honest, the shot clock doesn’t really come into my mind at all when we’re playing because we’re pretty much run and gun,” Johnsburg senior guard Ashton Stern said after shooting 6 of 10 from 3-point range and scoring 18 points against Boylan. “There’s not really much of a difference [playing with it] for us.”

Johnsburg doesn’t play with a shot clock in its Kishwaukee River Conference games. The Fox Valley Conference isn’t using it either.

If teams want to use the shot clock for nonconference games, they have to agree to it. C-G, McCloud said, plans to use the shot clock for the Trojans’ nonconference Saturday matinee Jan. 10 at Vernon Hills.

“I like it because it doesn’t let you hold the ball at the end of the game,” McCloud said. “It’s more true basketball. You can’t just stall a game. You got to be efficient for four quarters.”

There will be a learning curve with the shot clock. Not only for the players but for the coaches. That’s one reason why tournaments such as the Hinkle Holiday Classic should help teams going forward.

“We’ve watched shot clocks our whole lives with college and the NBA,” Roberts said. “Teams will be up late in the game and then they just hold the ball. Then the shot clock goes down, and they throw up a bad shot. That’s all stuff that we’re going to have to navigate.”

Skill, like good defense, should prevail.

“You have to be a better basketball player because you can’t just pass it and catch it and possess the ball,” Roberts said. “You got to go play and score.”

For those reasons, Roberts likes the shot clock.

“There’s more strategy. There’s more for us to coach,” he said. “Which I like.”