High School Basketball needs a shot clock

[N2Choctaws]

My reply to same question posted March 2007:

 

A shot clock at the high school level? No

 

1. You already have the 5 second closely guarded rule; Which seems to work fine in West TN. The Refs may count different from game to game, but seem to keep it fair within each game.

 

2. Scorers have enough trouble keeping up with the alternate possession arrow. And when to start and stop the game clock.

 

3. Allows more options for coaches to develop a style of play that matches their level of talent .

[luvhoops]

luvhoops, You and I are in total agreement on something.( Apparently we would agree on a lot of things as much as we love the game) /thumb[1].gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":thumb:" border="0" alt="thumb[1].gif" />

 

 

I think your right. We both have a lot of pride and passion for our teams! Gotta love it.

[BigDaddy_1]

No to the shot clock....Most teams don't have the depth to keep the pace an entire game the shot clock requires, IMO, with out a lot of slop involved.

[SCRAPMAN]

I agree with and share your opinion on the jump ball rule. As a matter of fact, I believe that should be changed at the NCAA level as well.

 

 

Now, here's my thing on the shot clock. Number one, a shot clock has nothing to do with quality of the game or for the experience of players and coaches. It's all about spectators experience. Secondly, the burden here is on the defense. You don't want someone to hold the ball then come out and guard. Finally, if you're a coaching a team that is down by 10 and you don't challenge then you're an idiot and deserve to lose the game anyway. Most often these are games where you see someone holding the ball in order to stall are games in which one team is much weaker or less athletic then their opponent and they're attempting to keep the score and flow of the game low and slow in attempt to even the odds. So here are our options: Keep things as they are and hope it's not a rout or put in a shot clock and assure yourself seeing of a rout. Either way, you're not going to witness a " good game ". There are instances of coaches stalling the ball in a bit of " chest thumping" contest with a rival coach or in order to protest a bad official but most often the above scenario is the norm.

 

All that aside here is my biggest issue with a shot clock. The responsibility of those charged with keeping it. Think about the scoreboard operator for a moment for example. This will be a bit long-winded but I'm going some where with it. When you're keeping the scoreboard you have a lot on your plate. Some scoreboards keep up with individual player numbers, points, and fouls ( and if you do that then my hat is off to you ) but most just keep the score and team fouls. You make sure subs get in if refs don't notice and keep time on time-outs but at the end of the day the scoreboard operator has one key mandate. Keep the game time correctly. Even the score on that board is not what ultimately matters. The score in the official score book is. So, when doing this job you must pay attention and not get caught up in the game. You must at all times be listening for the whistle. You need someone one that can be trusted not to be fan or a homer but ,in fact, an official. I'm sure you've been to games where the clock operator wasn't paying attention for one reason or another, be a tight game or not. It's a problem and source of controversy but one we have to deal with because, well, we can't live without the clock....... /roflol.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":roflol:" border="0" alt="roflol.gif" />

 

Now, with the shot clock. You have pay as much attention to the actual game. The difference is that timekeepers are not required to make judgment calls. A shot clock operator does. I speak from experience having done so in Division-II men's and women's games. Now, it's not always so complex. Many times, a shot taken clearly hits the rim and , boom, reset the shot clock. Ok, but let's assume it's on the far side of the goal from where you sit. Did it hot the rim or not? You have to make the call. On a lose ball, did a team have possession and warrant a fresh shot clock or not ? Situations like these are more common than you'd like to think. In the end, the officials themselves can always correct you but that's just one more thing for them to worry about. It's just another potential source of controversy and game interruption which is ironic sense the key argument for the shot clock is to make the game more " fan friendly ". Bottom line, I don't trust John Q. to do that job correctly and it isn't something we just have to include. The game can go on without it.

 

 

This is all aside from the fact that you'd have to pay the extra person and pay to have the clock installed. ( which would cost well over $1,000 per school or gym). What happens when it malfunctions? ( aside from the cost to fix it ) In the NCAA, such cases are resolved by the shot clock time being kept at the score's table on a stopwatch and the final 10 seconds are announced over the PA. Well, not every school has PA announcer either.

 

I know this is long and drawn out but I just wanted to be thorough. It's more trouble than it's worth at this level.

 

Wow! I had to take a nap halfway through your post. lol You make a lot of sense though. I forgot about the HUMAN ELEMENT.

Especially in single A. Isn't that where all the ref's start out? We have lost a couple games this year to the HUMAN ELEMENT. If you know what I mean...

[Southeast21]

Under no circumstances whatsoever should there ever be a shot clock, the jump ball rule is fine as is.

 

There should TOTALLY be a shot clock(California has one for high school) but it should probably be like 35-40 seconds. I hate seeing teams sit on the ball. I saw hume-fogg beat MLK on a game winning shot.... AFTER they had held the ball for 5 min. I saw USN beat some other DII-A when the held the ball for 7 min. in the third quarter. And its also bad because when ur team is playing the 2-3 zone and the other team is only up a small margin, they can hold the ball AS LONG as they'd like making it easy for the players and coaches... too easy. Having a shot clock would speed the game up a lil bit, see what team can play under pressure, and prevent so much sitting on the ball.

[Pantherbert]

Wow! I had to take a nap halfway through your post. lol You make a lot of sense though. I forgot about the HUMAN ELEMENT.

Especially in single A. Isn't that where all the ref's start out? We have lost a couple games this year to the HUMAN ELEMENT. If you know what I mean...

 

 

/roflol.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":roflol:" border="0" alt="roflol.gif" />

 

Yeah, I normally don't write novels but this topic has always had my attention

[Southeast21]

There should TOTALLY be a shot clock(California has one for high school) but it should probably be like 35-40 seconds. I hate seeing teams sit on the ball. I saw hume-fogg beat MLK on a game winning shot.... AFTER they had held the ball for 5 min. I saw USN beat some other DII-A when the held the ball for 7 min. in the third quarter. And its also bad because when ur team is playing the 2-3 zone and the other team is only up a small margin, they can hold the ball AS LONG as they'd like making it easy for the players and coaches... too easy. Having a shot clock would speed the game up a lil bit, see what team can play under pressure, and prevent so much sitting on the ball.

 

Well actually there doesnt HAVE to be a shot clock. Just SOMETHING that keeps teams from holding the ball for 3-5 min.

[Coachwo]

High School basketball does not need a shot clock. The game is fine without it- most players are not smart enough to hold on to the ball anyway. They shoot way to quick into the possession. There is an average of 75 possessions per team in a game. That is alot, and scores show they are not that proficient in scoring.

 

As for the jump ball rule- give every jumpball to the defense- reward the hustle or reward the pressure on the ball because the offense can't handle the ball.

 

Just my opinion- I think the game would be better.

[N2Choctaws]

High School basketball does not need a shot clock. The game is fine without it- most players are not smart enough to hold on to the ball anyway. They shoot way to quick into the possession. There is an average of 75 possessions per team in a game. That is alot, and scores show they are not that proficient in scoring.

 

As for the jump ball rule- give every jumpball to the defense- reward the hustle or reward the pressure on the ball because the offense can't handle the ball.

 

Just my opinion- I think the game would be better.

 

 

+1 /thumb[1].gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":thumb:" border="0" alt="thumb[1].gif" />

[terop]

I say high school does need a shot clock, but not a 30. I would say about a 40 sec clock. I hate to go to games and a team get a 5 point lead and try to stall the ball for the last 5 minutes of the game.

[bigdawg3]

As for the jump ball rule- give every jumpball to the defense- reward the hustle or reward the pressure on the ball because the offense can't handle the ball.

 

I like this point a lot. the defense should be rewarded.

[jvaughan]

I say high school does need a shot clock, but not a 30. I would say about a 40 sec clock. I hate to go to games and a team get a 5 point lead and try to stall the ball for the last 5 minutes of the game.

 

 

What's more important, winning the game or entertaining the fans?