close

Shot clock means more blowouts, fewer upsets

4 min read

The effort to introduce a shot clock into high school basketball is ongoing. Over the years, numerous attempts to sway the National Federation of State High Schools Associations to implement one have failed.

The issue is sure to be revisited again after the events that took place Jan. 31 when two teams from Alabama – Bibb County and Brookwood – returned to the court for a rematch of a December game that Brookwood won 40-36.

In this game, if you want to call it a game, Bibb County scored a basket in the first 15 seconds and for most of the remaining time, the two chucklehead coaches allowed the game to deteriorate into a staring contest as both teams employed a hold-the-ball offense.

Final score? Bibb County 2, Brookwood 0.

Naturally, the story flamed through social media, and appeared in many newspapers in Canada and the United States. It also will spark a new debate about using a shot clock in high school basketball.

Here’s hoping the NFHS again repels this effort.

The major argument for the shot clock is it would eliminate games such as the one in Alabama, where fans made their unhappiness known with epitaphs unfit for this newspaper. A shot clock would not allow a team to simply hold the ball for an entire quarter, trying to impose their will on the defense.

But the shot clock also would take away the one weapon a less talented team has: the ability to run a deliberate half-court offense that slows the game’s pace. I said slow, not completely stop. And let’s be realistic here. Normally, regular season high school games are not very competitive. Most are decided by 10 or more points, so implementing a shot clock is not going to produce a rash of upsets.

Forcing teams with less talent into a faster-paced game plays into the hands of their more talented opponents. Better teams normally run a fast-paced offense to take advantage of their skilled athletes. Getting up and down the court will be easier when a lesser opponent is forced to chuck up a shot before time runs out.

Eight states already have a shot clock for their high school basketball games and a report by MaxPreps from the 2013-14 season that covered 137,000 games played nationwide showed that the average number of points scored and the average margin of victory remained nearly the same. States with a shot clock had an average score of 60-44.2 and those states without one, 58-42.9.

Another factor that will probably stop the implementation of a shot clock is cost. The system normally runs between $2,000 and $5,000 and would most likely require a rewiring of the gymnasium. Also, a school district would most likely have to get two sets of shot clocks in case one malfunctions during a game or for use in tournaments at schools that use two gymnasiums. It’s also an extra cost for schools in the form of an extra worker to run the clock for all games.

Maybe images of the legendary Dean Smith and his famous four-corners offense might come to mind when you see a score such as the one in Alabama. By the way, it tied a national record for lowest-scoring game in the country with a lot of other high schools that have coaches who don’t understand why they sell tickets to these games.

While I believe Smith was one of the greatest college coaches in the history of the game, it’s also safe to say his four-corners offense bastardized the game.

A shot clock in high school wouldn’t bastardize the game, but there is a better reason for the NFHS not to adopt the plan.

It’s just not necessary.

Assistant sports editor Joe Tuscano can be reached at jtuscano@observer-reporter.com.

CUSTOMER LOGIN

If you have an account and are registered for online access, sign in with your email address and password below.

NEW CUSTOMERS/UNREGISTERED ACCOUNTS

Never been a subscriber and want to subscribe, click the Subscribe button below.

Starting at $3.75/week.

Subscribe Today