WEATHERFORD, Okla. (KFOR) – Video of an Oklahoma high school basketball has gone viral but not for an inspiring buzzer beater or a record-breaking win. It was because of the shockingly low final score. Third ranked Weatherford beat ninth ranked Anadarko 4-2, overshadowing homecoming and one of Weatherford’s stars hitting 1,000th career points.
Anadarko’s strategy was to simply pass the ball the entire game. Video of the game, broadcasted by Wright Media, showed Anadarko spend more than seven minutes of the third quarter passing the ball between two of the team’s guards.
Sports talk radio was buzzing Wednesday morning.
“The tactic, I think, is the wrong tactic for high school basketball,” said Todd Lisenbee, with The Franchise 107.7.
News 4 Sports’ Dylan Buckingham shared his thoughts during his sports radio broadcast on The Franchise 107.7.
“Last night was a disservice to the kids,” said Buckingham. “It was brutal to watch. It’s kind of embarrassing.”
People across the country went to social media to criticize Anadarko’s head basketball coach, Doug Schumpert. The hall of fame coach is also one of the state’s winningest basketball coaches.
Jerry McCormick, Anadarko’s superintendent, sent News 4 this statement.
“While this game has gained much media attention in regard to how the game was played, our basketball coach Doug Schumpert and his staff utilized their knowledge of the game along with the skills of our players to provide us with the best opportunity to win and we support those efforts.”
The game sparked conversations about the need for a shot clock in high school basketball. The Oklahoma Secondary Activities Association voted 8-7 back in January to keep shot clocks out of high school basketball.
“There are around 18-19 state associations that have the shot clock in effect,” said Grant Gower, assistant director of OSSAA. “Oklahoma was one of the states that decided not to adopt the shot clock at this point. So that’s why some states do have it and other states do not.”
One of the biggest concerns for the OSSAA board in making the decision was the cost to implement the concept.
“For some schools that is a big consideration, not just the initial capital outlay. But then the night to night, the week to week of, running that shot clock,” said Gower.
Ultimately, Anadarko’s strategy did not work as Weatherford still managed to win. High school basketball playoffs in Oklahoma start next week.
