LANGLEY — Basketball fans can expect to see faster games this season in South Whidbey High School’s Erikson Gym.

Starting this week, every high school boys basketball game will utilize a 35-second shot clock. The clock will be reset when the ball hits the rim.

“There’s no doubt, the shot clock will increase the pace of the game,” said first-year Falcon coach Chris Ferrier.

Before now, only six states in the nation imposed a shot- clock rule on boys basketball teams.

Now there are seven, as Washington state’s high school athletic governing body voted 42-11 for the move last spring, making the boys games consistent with men’s college basketball.

Washington was already one of eight states to use a 30-second shot clock in girls basketball, which was introduced in 1974.

Proponents of the change say fans benefit from a faster-paced game with more offensive possessions, and those headed to play in college will be familiar with facing a shot clock before getting to the next level.

Others believe it will force teams to take more shots, even in big blowouts, likely resulting in lopsided scores.

Time will tell, but senior Andy Bennett isn’t worried.

“Right now, the coach is timing us to take the shot in 12 seconds once we hit the zone,” he said. “So, I think 35 seconds should be a piece of cake for us.”

One of Ferrier’s major challenges since practice began two weeks ago has been to instill a sense of faster pacing to a team that often used the “stall ball” tactic just before the quarter or half ended, a hallmark of former coach Scott Collins the past two years.

The Falcons posted a winning 25-19 overall record during Collins’ tenure, including a spot in the playoffs. Before his arrival, the boys went 6-14.

“Scott did a great job,” Ferrier said. “The kids are fundamentally sound, and it’s going to be my job to take them even farther. We’ve had some excellent practices so far, and I’m helped by the overall level of intelligence I’m seeing.”

Ferrier said he’s been focusing on more aggressive team play and mentality.

“Let’s face it, basketball is an action sport that needs to be played with high intensity and a lot of running and gunning,” he said.

Ferrier hasn’t decided on a starting roster.

“It doesn’t matter who starts any particular game,” he explained. “It’s more about who finishes.”

His only All Conference player returning is Riley Newman, who led scoring in the league last year. But by mid-season, Newman found himself being double- and triple-teamed, and Ferrier expects that to happen again.

“That’s why it is crucial that the other varsity players — particularly Cole Erikson, Jordan Dibble, Shelby Ball, Jordan Thornley and Bennett — rise to the occasion,” the coach said.

“We’re going to find the best combination of players that works. I tell the guys they have to get better every day. And they are,” he said.

As usual, prime candidates for the top slot in the Cascade Conference are Archbishop Murphy and King’s. But there could be some surprises this season.

“Coupeville has a top forward over 6-foot-6 that we must contend with in our first league game on Dec. 18,” Ferrier said.

A new coach usually means a new system of doing things; this season’s crop of seniors began with Andy Davis, then Collins, and now Ferrier.

“That makes us pretty unique,” Bennett said. “Three coaches in four years. But we’re very tight and expect to play on the instincts we’ve developed together over time. We can always count on our teammates out there.”

Ferrier grew up in Elma, a small town in the Chehalis River Valley west of Olympia. After high school, he went to Central Washington University and received a bachelor’s degree in health and fitness in 2004.

Coaching has been a passion for 10 years, first as a volunteer with the Elma Eagles, then as an assistant in Ellensburg before taking over the Thorp High School Tigers and taking them to the playoffs for two years.

He then took over the girls basketball program in at Spanaway High School. The first year was a “rebuilding” season, but he managed to take the Lady Sentinels to the playoffs in his second year.

Working as a substitute teacher at the high school offers Ferrier some advantages.

“It’s important to have an in-building coach; it helps me to develop good relationships and be aware of academic and behavioral situations,” he noted.

Ferrier will be helped by assistant coaches Gus Erikson, Ed Baran and Tim Gabelein and, so far, is having a smashing time.

“I love it here. Great kids, supportive parents and fellow coaches make it fun.

“Who wouldn’t want to be doing this?”

On Thursday, the team travels to Interlake, then welcomes the Anacortes Seahawks to Erikson Gym on Wednesday, Dec. 16.