Shot Clock

[scon36]

That’s asking a lot from a clock operator. I don’t think that would work at majority of schools.

 

Coming from a small school, when I was AD it was difficult enough to find people to keeps the clock for every game. I had a couple of people who did it but sometimes neither were available and I had to scramble. I couldn’t imagine also having to worry about finding shot clock operators who knew what they were doing, too.

Not every school has the resources available that are found at Scott County and Trinity.

 

Add to that the fact they make these things way more difficult to operate than they need to be. Some are more user friendly than others, but at times there are too many steps to execute a simple function. Even the best operator would suggest adding a second person for the shot clock.

[OBC2018]

Have you heard of the NCAA tournament? If you argue it isn't manipulated I will no longer take you serious.

If humans are involved it is manipulated!

[Broomstick]

And therein lies the problem.

 

Why should a high high school basketball game be about the spectators?

EXACTLY!!!

[4 Quarters]

Have you heard of the NCAA tournament? If you argue it isn't manipulated I will no longer take you serious.

If humans are involved it is manipulated!

 

There is a lot of truth to this statement.

[bodyarmor]

I just went through this thread and read every post. Let me throw this info out for the sake of discussion. I have run the shot clock for a D-I and D-II university for the last 29 years. I have run the shot clock for college conference tournaments along with various rounds of the NCAA tournament for both men and women. I have also done PA and/or clock/scoreboard for high school for the last 33 years. I feel like I can address the "high school shot clock" question pretty clearly. I don't think a shot clock in high school is feasible (if it were mandated by the KHSAA) for the following reasons:

 

1) Every high school in the state would have to install a system of one type or another; some schools could afford it, others could not.

2) The shot clock would need to be run for every freshman, JV, and varsity game for both boys and girls.

3) You would have to have trained individuals available on a consistent basis to run the shot clock for every game. I don't envision that many people being available or interested enough to perform that job. Sometimes I get screamed at by coaches/fans just as much as the refs do.

4) Some folks have mentioned letting the clock operator also run the shot clock. I can tell you from experience there is NO WAY that would work. The game clock and the shot clock are entirely two different animals. The game clock operates on whistles while the shot clock is ENTIRELY on the operator's (and the refs in college) judgement (think about that, 4 different angles on every reset of the shot clock). I read an article several years back where a study had been done on shot clocks and they stated that the shot clock operator in the average D-I, D-II, and D-III game made around 200-250 decisions while running the clock. I thought at the time that that number sounded kind of high but as I went through that season I thought about it and now I would say that number is pretty accurate. Can you imagine someone trying to run the game clock at the same time they're running a shot clock? I think there would be a huge number of mistakes made on one clock or the other, if not both. It would slow the game down to correct errors and make it just as boring as watching the stall game, not to mention upsetting most of the fans.

 

I could go on, but hope this sheds some light on a very interesting discussion. As an old guy who has worked many seasons of boys/girls high school and mens/womens NCAAs I would vote 100% to not have the shot clock added to high school ball. I'd be interested to hear a lot more discussion about this subject. Enjoy the upcoming NCAAs!

[Voice of Reason]

Excellent insight @bodyarmor! Thank you for sharing. That changes my thoughts on the shot clock in high school.

[Big Smooth]

Reward defensive play. Adapt a shot clock.

[HICKORY]

A shot clock would have little effect on the game. Most high school teams will shoot it before 30-35 seconds. A major issue I see is having people to work it. Some schools struggle to find people to work the regular clock (some even use kids which shouldn’t be allowed).

 

A shot clock won’t improve the quality of play. As a matter of fact it might hurt the game until kids quit spending all their time playing video games, social media and playing too many AAU games. Don’t get me wrong AAU serves its purpose. However, kids play too many games instead of working on their bodies, skill level, etc.

[scon36]

Some schools struggle to find people to work the regular clock (some even use kids which shouldn’t be allowed).

 

 

Well, I ran the clock 35 years ago when I was in HS and did pretty good job. I wouldn’t discount the age of a person doing the job. The major thing about running the clock is that you can’t watch the game. It doesn’t make sense but it’s true. If you get wrapped up in the game, you’re gonna miss a stop, start or score.

[rjs4470]

Well, I ran the clock 35 years ago when I was in HS and did pretty good job. I wouldn’t discount the age of a person doing the job. The major thing about running the clock is that you can’t watch the game. It doesn’t make sense but it’s true. If you get wrapped up in the game, you’re gonna miss a stop, start or score.

 

Yep. I haven’t run the clock for basketball, but I have for football. It’s not hard to get caught up into the game and miss things. I can’t imagine how difficult it would be to try to work the game and shot clock at the same time.

[PP1]

You Would probably have many more lopsided scores. If your team is up by 30 points in the third quarter and there’s a shot clock then they have to shoot it and try to score every 30 seconds.