WHY DO SO FEW HIGH SCHOOLS HAVE SHOT CLOCKS FOR BASKETBALL GAMES?
Just know this: when it comes to HS basketball games, and the use of shot clocks in the games to move the action along, it all really all depends where the game is being played.
The state of Oregon recently passed legislation that made it the 12th state in the country that mandates the use of shot clocks at HS basketball games. That’s right….Oregon is now just the 12th state in the Union to mandate shot clocks at HS games.
Let’s first put this into perspective. If you’re a basketball fan, you know the NBA uses a shot clock. So does the WNBA. And so does the NCAA with college basketball teams. And do travel and club baskeball teams, as well as AAU basketball teams.
So, wouldn’t it make sense just to keep pace with the pro and college teams, that you would assume that the HS teams all over the country would use shot clocks in their games, correct?
True confession. That’s certainly what I assumed. And I was flat out wrong.
Turns out that there are 38 states in the US where shot clocks are NOT used in the games. Whoa. That’s a lot of HS teams where, if the coach decided to slow down the game into boring“stall ball,” well, the coach has the right to do that.
Bu you ask - why would a HS basketball coach NOT want to have a shot clock? A lot of this recent debate stems from a HS game played in Oklahoma (where shot clocks are not allowed). The coach of the weaker team decided that if he could somehow play a slow-down, no offense game, his team might have a chance to pull off a major upset. Final score? The better team won 4-2.
Ardent supporters of the “no shot clock” philosophy point to “exciting” 4-2 game like this as why we need not have shot clocks. Or they claim the cost of installing shot clocks into a gym would be prohibitive (cost of approx $2000). From my perspective, these kinds of arguments seem kind of weak. But then. the vast majority of the states are fully supportive of no shot clocks. And even more so, there is very little push forward to make any changes
Take a listen to my radio show this AM on WFAN Sports Radio (New York City). We had lots of heated opinions from lots of basketball experts.
My sense is that something is going to change. The only question is when? Listen here: The Sports Edge with Rick Wolff