OHSAA considers video replay for state basketball tournaments

Zac Jackson, OhioHSsports.com, May 12, 2009 1:53 p.m.

Kendall Hackney holds up Gabby Smith after Mount Notre Dame knocked off Lakota West on a controversial last second shot at the 2008 girls state basketball tournament. The OHSAA is considering implementing video replay for the state basketball tournaments in 2010 and beyond.

The Ohio High School Athletic Association will explore the possibility of implementing video replay for buzzer-beaters in basketball state championship games, but no final decision has been made.

The National Federation of State High School Associations voted recently to allow replay for review of a shot attempt at the end of the fourth quarter or overtime, and only when the last-second shot would affect the outcome of a championship game.

The change would let officials determine whether the ball had left the shooter's hand before time expired or whether the shot was a two- or three-pointer. It follows recent implementations of similar rules in the NBA and NCAA basketball and is a potential fit because Ohio's state title games are played in Ohio State's Value City Arena and televised.

Following is the statement released Tuesday morning by the OHSAA regarding the rule change: "We will examine this rule change and how it would impact our basketball championships if we decide to utilize the video reply option. There are many factors involved in developing and using a video replay system, from equipment to training the officials, and we will devote the necessary time and resources to studying its potential and effect."

The rule is not mandatory and leaves the decision whether to use it to each state association. Recent events in Ohio basketball helped spark the change.

In 2008, then-freshman Kathryn Reynolds won the girls Div. I state title for Cincinnati Mount Notre Dame with a coast-to-coast drive and layup at the buzzer. It was ruled a good basket on the court, though later replays showed the ball still may have been in her hand when time expired.

Five days later, Chillicothe won an overtime classic in the boys Div. II title game when Ray Chambers high-arching layup beat the buzzer and Toledo Libbey.

The NFHS, the governing body for almost 19,000 high schools nationwide, said other close calls that year in South Carolina and Michigan also contributed to the idea of subjecting such situations to replay review.

Another new NFHS rule will allow the use of a red light behind the backboard to signal the end of a quarter or overtime. If no red light is present, the audible timer's signal will continue to be used.