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After years of discussion and anticipation, the shot clock era of Nebraska high school basketball is just around the corner.

A 35-second shot clock is coming to Class A basketball for the 2022-23 season, and there’s plenty to be done before the season gets underway in early December. Naturally, the first item on that list is getting the shot clocks permanently installed.

According to Lincoln Public Schools director of athletics Kathi Wieskamp, shot clocks have been ordered and are on their way for all LPS high schools. The purchase comes with a total price tag of $29,700, while installation efforts will cost another $28,800.

“Each scoreboard is different, so it’s a matter of interfacing with each different one,” Wieskamp said. “Most of the boards are designed so that it’s just a component they have to add. We’ve worked with facilities to have them all evaluated for installation, so I don’t think it will be a major shutdown for the gyms to get those added.”

That’s a perspective shared by Lincoln Southwest athletic director Mark Armstrong, who doesn’t anticipate gyms to be out of commission for long. From each individual school’s perspective, the up-front costs are currently minimal but will rise variably in the near future.

Schools will need to train and pay an additional person to run the shot clock at varsity basketball contests — and training will be important. Shot clock operators must know when possession changes and quickly identify if an attempted shot hit the rim rather than the backboard around it.

Beyond that, there aren’t many other hang-ups in getting the shot clock era rolling. It’s already underway at Lincoln Pius X, where the Thunderbolts’ summer girls basketball camp features portable 35-second shot clocks along the baseline.

Lincoln Pius X's Ava Markowski attempts a three-pointer at a summer basketball camp using shot clocks on Monday at Pius X High School.

Pius X’s permanent shot clocks will be installed later this summer, but girls basketball head coach Ryan Psota felt it was important for teams to raise their situational awareness in different scenarios with the shot clock.

“For example, an offensive rebound comes off the rim and you don’t have to put up a quick shot,” Psota said. “It’s all these little nuances that kids are going to have to get used to with the shot clock, but it’s going really well.”

The summer basketball camp action on Monday hardly represented a large change in how the game is played. Class B school York, which will not play with a shot clock next year, was caught with a shot-clock violation early in a scrimmage against Bellevue East, but no other violations occurred after that.

Most Class A teams already had 35-second or quicker possessions, so the preseason contests flowed at a similar pace to what fans are used to. However, the biggest impact a shot clock can make was evident in Pius X’s scrimmage against Bellevue East.

The Chieftains led by two points with less than 1 minute left on the game clock, a situation that, in the past, would have led to Pius X committing a foul to stop the clock.

Instead, Pius X sat back on defense and forced a stop to get the ball back with 30 seconds left.

“As somebody who has had teams stall on us, it’s going to help change the last part of the quarter and games,” Psota said. “It’s also helpful for a team that’s down seven points with two minutes left, they don’t have to foul anymore so it helps the game.”

At this point, teams and players alike are ready for the shot clock this winter. All that’s left is simply getting the permanent clocks installed, a process that will take place in the next two months before the start of the school year in August.

Walters had an all-time great performance as a senior, with his 3,402 passing yards standing as the all-time Class A state record. Walters was named the Super-State team captain after completing 187 of 281 attempts for 44 touchdowns compared to just five interceptions. He led Lincoln East to a playoff appearance, and earned a Division I opportunity with North Alabama.

The first-team Super-Stater and Class B all-state honorary captain piled up 442 kills despite missing the first part of the season to compete for Team USA 18U. She had a 37-kill game against Omaha Skutt in the state semifinals. Allick, recruited as a middle blocker, slid over to outside hitter to help power Waverly to another state tourney berth.

Adams had a remarkable junior year and yet was able to top that as a senior, finishing with a Class A-record 24 homer runs. She hit .532 while keying the Spartans' charge to the Class A state championship game. The first baseman knocked in 65 runs from the lead spot and scored 60 runs while being named a first-team Super-Stater and the Journal Star's All-City honorary captain.

Romary had an outstanding season, winning five times. He finished in first or second place in eight of his 10 races, including a second-place finish at the Class A state meet. When he won the Heartland Conference meet he gave Northeast its first individual champion at the conference meet in at least 30 years.

With a four-place finish at the state meet, Rinn was the top Lincoln runner at state, capping a great career where she finished in the top 14 at state all four years. This season she finished in the top seven at all seven races, including two wins and a second-place finish at the LPS Championships. She’s the school-record holder for cross country. In track she has the school record in the 800, 1,600 and 3,200.

Kolbas wowed the state with a two-day course record (140) as a sophomore in 2020. She followed that with another state two-round record (136) to win her second Class A title in as many seasons. The All-City honorary captain shot rounds of 67 and 69 at Norfolk Country Club. Kolbas' list of wins included the HAC meet and Lincoln Golf Classic.

Le lost just two matches at No. 1 singles during the season on his way to finishing as state runner-up in Class A. He finished 37-2 and was the catalyst in the Spartans' run to the team state title. Le also won titles in the Pius X, Lincoln East and Omaha Westside invites, as well as the HAC No. 1 singles crown. He was named the All-City honorary captain.

A second-team Super-State selection, Jacobsen averaged 16.8 points per game while showing off his passing skills that made him one of the state's top guards. Jacobsen set a C-1 state tournament record with a jaw-dropping 43-point game in the state semifinals, followed by a victory over Auburn for Ashland-Greenwood's first-ever boys basketball state title. Jacobsen will be walking on at Nebraska.

Battling a finger injury midway through the season, Williams showed a lot of grit in leading the Silver Hawks to a runner-up finish in Class A. She averaged 11.9 points, 3.0 assists, 3.2 steals and 2.7 rebounds per contest, and was one of the state's top on-ball defenders. She scored 24 points against Omaha Central and 19 against Millard South in the state tournament, and was named the Journal Star's All-City honorary captain.

After winning a state title as a sophomore, Smith returned to the top two years later, rolling through the 132-pound Class A bracket at CenturyLink Center Omaha. At state, Smith pinned three of his four opponents and won the other match by major decision. He finished 34-2 and was named the Journal Star's All-City honorary captain.

After winning an NSWCA championship a season before, Ricketts dominated on her way to a 165-pound state title in the first year of girls wrestling being sanctioned by the NSAA. She pinned her first two opponents at state and won the final 12-5 to finish at 50-0. Ricketts won 48 of her matches by pinfall.

Mlinek was named the Journal Star's All-City honorary captain after winning two individual titles at the state meet in helping the Silver Hawks capture a second straight team crown. Mlinek won the 100-yard breaststroke for a third straight season and added gold in the 100 freestyle. He also was part of two winning relay teams and won four golds at the HAC meet.

Livingston won the 50- and 100-yard freestyles at the Heartland Athletic Conference meet, and her momentum carried over into state where she won the 50 free gold — her first state title — in 23.72 seconds. The All-City honorary captain also swam a career-best time in the 100 free, finishing second at :51.74 while helping the Southwest girls wrap up a state championship.

One of the most dominant pitchers in the entire state this year, Worthley was a first-team Super-State selection after compiling a 7-0 record and 0.84 ERA. Most impressively, he didn't lose a single game in his Lincoln East career (14-0). Almost no one was better than Worthley in keeping runners off the bases and earning strikeouts in pressure situations, attributes that will serve him well as a Division I pitcher.

She was outstanding during the state tournament while helping Southeast finish as state runner-up. In a 1-0 overtime win against Omaha Westside in the first round she made 12 saves. After that match, Southeast coach Liz Kremer said Hogg had played the "game of her life." Then in a 1-0 shootout win against Omaha Marian in the semifinals she made a diving save to end the match. During one stretch of the season, Hogg had a stretch of 731 minutes without conceding a goal. She was the honorary captain of the Journal Star Super-State soccer team.

Kramer played a big part in Southwest getting back to the state tournament despite graduating 10 seniors from the previous season. He had a goal or assist during most of the Silver Hawks’ matches. His 17 goals were just three off the school record, and he missed two matches due to injury. He had seven game-winning goals, and he earned second-team Super-State honors from the Journal Star.

Coleman emerged as one of the top sprinters in the state while also contributing in the jumps. Considered the top football recruit in the 2023 class, Coleman ran the 200 meters in 21.31 seconds at district to land at No. 10 on the all-time charts. He also had the state's fastest time (:10.43) in the 100. At state, Coleman placed second in each the 100 and 200, losing those races by a combined .05 seconds. He also was third in the triple jump.

Not only did DeFrand sweep all-class gold medals in the 100- and 200-meter dashes for a second straight season, she cemented her place in state history. At districts, she ran the 100 in 11.6 seconds, which tied for the all-class state record and is the fastest electronic time in state history. Then at state, DeFrand set a state record in the 200, winning the final in :23.74.

Bryson fought through a crowded leaderboard and the cool conditions to become the first Southeast golfer to win a state championship since 2005. After shooting a bogey-free 69 in the opening round, Bryson followed with an even-par 72 to win the Class A state title by three strokes. Bryson was the Knights' No. 1 golfer all season, won the Grand Island Invitational and was named the Journal Star's All-City honorary captain.

during the final round of the Class A boys state golf tournament on May 25 in Norfolk.

Rademacher finished her first high school season atop Class A, defeating Lincoln Southeast's Camilla Ibrahimova 6-4, 6-2 in the No. 1 singles final at Koch Family Tennis Center in Omaha. She finished 34-6, won a title at the Papillion-La Vista Invite and was named the All-City honorary captain. 

The Ashland-Greenwood boys basketball team had only made two state tournaments prior to Mohs' arrival in 2012, and he oversaw an all-time great effort in 2022. The Bluejays posted a record of 27-1, with their only loss coming to eventual Class B champion Omaha Roncalli by two points early in the year. The Bluejays' C-1 crown was the first basketball state title won by Ashland or Greenwood since the 1920s.

Kabourek, who also serves as a track assistant at East, led the Spartans to their fourth straight state championship last fall. East became the first Class A team to win at least four straight since Omaha Marian (2003-07). The Spartans had three top-10 finishers — Peyton Svehla (seventh), Mia Murphy (eighth) and Izzy Apel (ninth) — at the state meet, and they rolled to a HAC meet title while not losing a team race all season.

Williams played critical roles for three state-bound Silver Hawk teams. In basketball, she averaged 11.9 points, 3.2 steals and 3.0 steals per contest while earning second-team Super-State honors for the state runner-up Silver Hawks. In softball, Williams was the starting shortstop for Southwest, which won Class A. Williams hit .362 with six home runs, seven doubles and 29 RBIs. In soccer, Williams heled the Silver Hawks reach the state semis. She earned all-state honorable-mention honors in softball and soccer.

A three-sport varsity athlete at Lincoln East, Coleman earned over a dozen Power Five scholarship offers following a jaw-dropping football season where he caught 10 touchdowns and recorded 7½ sacks. Coleman also contributed on East's basketball team before earning himself several medals at the state track and field tournament. Coleman finished second in both the 100- and 200-meter races, in addition to a third-place finish in the triple jump.

Nichols bowled a four-game 956 (239 average) at the state tournament to grab the top seed for bracket play. He played eighth at districts in helping lead the Thunderbolts to a district championship and a spot in the team portion of the state tournament. Nichols bowled a 196.50 average heading into state, with a high game of 247.

Brumm, who was an area girls bowling finalist in 2021, rolled a 493 at the A-5 district meet to place second, and her score helped the Bluejays secure the district title. She bowled a 152 average heading into state, with a high game of 246.

Reach the writer at 402-473-7437 or at LMullin@journalstar.com. On Twitter @lmullin7

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Lincoln Pius X's Ava Markowski attempts a three-pointer at a summer basketball camp using shot clocks on Monday at Pius X High School.

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