With your team up 55-50, a minute
and thirty seconds left in the game, no shot clock, and your team has the ball,
what do you do? Well of course the smart thing to do would be to stall and run out
the clock until it strikes 0:00. To change the stalling, or what some call the
“spread offense”, in high school basketball, officials are considering
implementing a shot clock at the high school level.
This debate has been going on for
years, according to the article “Time
to Implement a Shot Clock in High School Basketball?” by Michael Popke.
This article in Athletic Business Magazine states that the “federation’s
Basketball Rules Committee has addressed proposals to add a shot clock multiple
times in recent years, that failed to garner enough support” (2013).
There are few things to consider
when debating about whether or not to have a shot clock in high school
basketball. First, there are financial issues with having a shot clock. Many schools
would have to purchase new scoreboards that include a shot clock or a shot
clock to add to an existing scoreboard. With recent budget cuts, schools may
not be able to purchase these items. Another factor to consider with
implementing a shot clock is hiring and training people to operate the new
equipment. Yes, this isn’t a huge problem; but this is another cost for schools
that already have budget issues.
In my opinion, the last but most
important thing to consider is the need to train officials. Many high school
officials are not used to shot clocks. Paying attention to when the shot clock
goes off, or when it is getting close to expiring instead of watching the game
for potential fouls is something that concerns me.
Having a shot clock in high
school basketball is not something that needs to be implemented right away. In
time I believe it is inevitable, but right now there is not enough support, or
reason, to implement a shot clock in high school basketball.
I have one question after reading the information that is presented here, would a shot clock make the game better? More specifically, will it allow for the game to grow and be more interesting as gamesmanship is concerned? I believe the answer is yes. Texas should add a shot clock to both men’s and women’s high school basketball. An increased shot clock will not only increase the entertainment value of high school basketball, but it will offer a development stage for those moving on to the next level.
ReplyDeleteThe officials should be able to make a smooth transition as there will be specific training and assistance provided if the shot clock incorporation ever happened.
I see the concern and reason for this discussion. As a fan I don’t like to see the team just hold the ball until the time runs out. In the NBA and college I’m glad they do have a shot clock, because it would take out the excitement of the game. When you have a shot clock, a team can make a comeback. In high school it would be difficult to implement the shot clock because you would have to change the rules. And like he mentioned in the article, you would have to train the referee to be able to look at the clock and know when there is a violation and they would have to monitor the game closely. At the end of all this I do agree that in time they will implement the shot clock in the high school level.
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