It seems the PIAA might be moving closer to adopting a shot clock for high school basketball — and that would be a good thing.
Nine states in the country currently have a shot clock for high school basketball (boys and girls), but not Pennsylvania. Last spring, the National Federation of State High School Associations, which makes rules for states in all sports, approved a measure leaving it up to each state association on whether to adopt a 35-second shot clock, starting in the 2022-23 season. So now, it’s up to the PIAA (Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association). Time is of the essence, PIAA, so go for it.
I used to get the feeling from past informal talks with PIAA brass that it did not want a shot clock in Pennsylvania. Cost to schools and more training of officials and shot clock operators were two of the main reasons against the shot clock. But sentiment might have swung the other way with the PIAA.
The PIAA basketball committee will meet shortly after the season to discuss matters in Pennsylvania high school basketball and also come up with recommendations to give the PIAA. The committee is made up of a representative of each of the 12 districts around the state (the WPIAL is District 7). The PIAA board of directors then decides whether to vote on any of the recommendations and possibly implement them.
In a recent phone conversation with PIAA executive director Bob Lombardi, he said maybe the PIAA should “get with the times” and implement a shot clock.
“Our basketball committee will discuss it and if they have a recommendation, it would go to the board for vote like any recommendation,” Lombardi said. “The board could adopt it or ask for more study.
“What I think is funny that I see people on Twitter say we’ll never adopt the shot clock. But I think we’re pretty engaged here. As a general statement, I think it’s accurate that most of the coaches want a shot clock, because why not? Maybe there’s not a, b, c, d, e, f and g reasons, but if everyone else is doing it, then why not? You have the other side where school and athletic administration are worried about the cost and manpower and everything that goes with it. If we can get those two groups to meet somewhere in the middle, maybe we can get a decision made.”
Lombardi said the PIAA could vote on a shot clock at the board of directors spring meeting.
Bill Cardone is the athletic director at Hampton, the chairman of the WPIAL basketball steering committee and also a member of the PIAA basketball steering committee that will decide whether to recommend a shot clock. California, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Dakota and Washington are states that currently utilize a shot clock. Georgia voted to have one for the 2022-23 season. Many other states might be voting soon.
“I sit and watch a ton of games and sometimes the pace of the game is smooth and it’s moving and I don’t think we need a shot clock,” Cardone said. “Other times, it’s like, ‘My gosh, they need to speed this up and get things moving. We need a shot clock.’
“I’m for the shot clock. I don’t see any reason why we can’t have it for boys and girls.”
Cardone believes most coaches want a shot clock, even those who sometimes have their teams play a methodical pace. There were semifinals and championship games in the WPIAL this season — boys and girls — where teams were regularly using 45 seconds or more on a possession. Some fans booed.
Four years ago, the Post-Gazette sampled every boys and girls coach in the WPIAL to ask them about a shot clock. Of the coaches who responded, 71% wanted a shot clock.
Chartiers Valley girls coach Tim McConnell, who has nine WPIAL titles in boys and girls, is very much in favor of a shot clock, even though he has held the ball in games over the years. He complained about needing a shot clock when his team lost to South Fayette in the WPIAL 5A championship.
“In the NBA, teams have a 20-point lead and teams come back because there’s a shot clock,” McConnell said. “It’s hard to come back against a good team in the fourth quarter without a shot clock. I’ve used no shot clock to my advantage many times. I don’t blame coaches. They’re playing to what the rules are. They’re smart. But I still think having a shot clock would be better for the game overall.”
I say hogwash to those schools that say cost is the reason not to have a shot clock. Yes, I know some schools have more money than others, but if cost is the reason, then we’ll never have a shot clock because it cost money to install a system before, it costs money now and it will cost money 10 years from now. So we will never have shot clock if it’s just for cost.
Four years ago, a representative of Daktronics, the largest scoreboard manufacturer in the country, said a basic shot clock system would cost $2,000 to $3,000 for a high school. But that’s a one-time cost. Yes, a school would also have to pay someone to operate the shot clock, and it’s not easy to get workers to handle the clock and scoreboard these days. But if eight other states already do it, and more will in the future, why can’t Pennsylvania?
Think of it: You could pay a worker $60 a night to work the shot clock for JV/varsity games. Teams usually have 11 regular-season home games. That’s $660 for boys and girls. That’s $1,200 a year. If needed, get sponsors from the district to help out with the cost. It can be done.
I understand coaches who say a shot clock will only widen the gap between talented and not-so-talented teams. An underdog won’t be able to control the pace of the game to keep things close. I get it. But if you’ve got a team full of tomato cans, you’re going to lose with or without a shot clock.
I’ve watched some high school games in Ohio with a 35-second shot clock and many times the shot clock doesn’t come into play except a few times a game. Remember, 35 seconds is five seconds longer than the college shot clock.
I don’t believe a reason to have a shot clock in high school is to get more players ready for college. Let players get ready for college in other ways. Besides, I don’t see many high school players who struggle in college because of the shot clock. They struggle because mostly they’re not good enough as a freshman to make an impact.
Some coaches believe a shot clock would hurt high school players fundamentally because they would force more bad shots. But I think a shot clock would make coaches use strategy more and players would have to develop more individual offensive skills, like scoring off the dribble, a talent that often is lacking in Western Pennsylvania.
“In the discussions around the table the last time (with the PIAA basketball committee), there were some pros and cons with it,” Cardone said. “But I kind of got the feeling that as things move forward, there will be an opportunity for us to say, ‘Yeah, let’s move forward.’ It seems like it’s gaining a little bit more support and I think they’re ready for it. I think it’s time.”
Maybe Cardone said it best when he commented, “I know the kids want a shot clock. And why are we here? Aren’t we here for the kids?”
Mike White: mwhite@post-gazette.com and Twitter @mwhiteburgh
First Published: March 17, 2022, 9:00 a.m.
Updated: March 17, 2022, 12:56 p.m.
