Prep Timeout Rule Changed

The National Federation Basketball Rules Committee in Kansas has approved a rules change affecting the timeouts high school coaches will have next season.

In an effort to speed up play, committee officials announced Wednesday that coaches will lose one full-length timeout but gain two 20-second timeouts. The change will give coaches three full-length timeouts and two 20-second timeouts in a regulation game. Any unused timeouts from regulation could be used in overtime.

Southern Section Commissioner Dean Crowley says the rules change is a good one, but not everyone in the county agrees.

“Why are they doing this? Are we going on TV?” said Brea Olinda Coach Gene Lloyd. “It’s ridiculous. The only reason they’ve made changes in the number of full timeouts--from five to four to three--is because of TV. We don’t need that.

“Sometimes it’s hard to get a team together and get your point across in only 20 seconds.”