It is time! And this is a double entendre. It is time to introduce a play clock in Pennsylvania high school basketball. In other words, it is time for time! There are currently eight states that use the shot clock in high school. They are California, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, North Dakota, South Dakota, Rhode Island, and Washington. Some use a 35-second clock and some use a 30-second clock.
I am in favor of a 35-second clock similar to what the men use in college basketball. Some of the reasons it has been opposed are: 1) it takes away strategy from the coaches to slow the game down against a more formidable opponent; 2) the governing body that oversees the rules (National Federation of State High School Associations) has not adopted the shot clock; 3) this rule would burden schools with another piece of equipment to purchase and more personnel needed to operate the equipment; 4) a shot clock erodes many of the fundamentals of playing the game; 5) there would be more lopsided scores if the weaker teams had to speed up the pace.
Let’s look at these reasons one by one:
1) 35 seconds is plenty of time to run your offense, utilize your game plan, and reward the defense if they stop you. If there is a reward for a well-run offense (a score), then there should be an equal reward for the defense if they stop the offense.
2) Eight states HAVE adopted the rule and it works very well for them. In fact, all, for the most part, have said that the rule did not change the game much at all. The rule did, however, eliminate “stall ball”, a fan’s nightmare.
3) I have no defense for this argument. The cost for the equipment ranges from $2,000-$5,000. When you add to that the installation, the wiring and the extra worker at the scorer’s table, the investment is high. Most schools have used sponsorships for their scoreboards. Perhaps a similar sales pitch would work here.
4) This argument is often used, but a team still has to pass, dribble, run an offense, set screens, make shots, etc. What fundamentals are missing here? Shouldn’t defending for a set period of time also be a fundamental?
5) It is the rare team that uses the “stall” tactic now and most use it because they feel that is the only way their good team will beat a superior team. Poor teams cannot hold the ball for minutes on end.
I do not want this piece to reflect at all on the AAAA championship game that was played between Whitehall and Parkland on Saturday night. Parkland is the best boys’ team in the area. I do not think anyone would argue. Whitehall is a good team. On Saturday, Whitehall did not stall, but they did try to limit Parkland’s possessions so they could be in a position to win the game at the end. It was the perfect strategy. Parkland won anyway and I do not believe a shot clock would have had any effect on the way this particular game was played.
But the game needs to be played. A 35-second play clock would insure that.
ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS)
- The District XI made a big mistake playing a double header in the Blue Mountain gymnasium on Friday night. It is a very nice facility, but was not large enough to handle the crowd. It holds 1800 people, but each game drew around 1800 people. Since there was no more room inside, fans were forced to wait an hour in the cold for the first game to end so there would be room for the second group. Also, parking was atrocious and getting out of the parking lot after the game almost impossible. I am sure the committee will reconsider their decision by next year.
- Floyd Mayweather will fight Manny Pacquiao in Las Vegas on Saturday, May 2. Now this is a fight worth watching on Pay-Per-View. Call 1-800-RingRCN.
- It looks like right now Villanova will be a #1 seed in the NCAA tournament. They would join Kentucky, Virginia and Duke. It’s almost bracketology time. Start studying.
- Watch this if you are a basketball fan. It gives you a good feeling. http://www.cbsnews.com/news/texas-high-school-basketball-team-incredible-sportsmanship/
- Season four begins this week. One is the regular season. Two is the league playoffs. Three are the districts. We’re headed to states – season four. Come along.
