What important problem does a high school shot clock solve?
A shot-clock in Indiana high school basketball is a solution without a problem.
Who does it benefits? A rules change should improve the game for players, coaches, officials, or enhance the fan experience – and hopefully a combination of all four. I can’t figure out how a shot clock in high school does any of that.
No one wants a team to run off two minutes of game time while the defense provides token resistance, but I never see that.
High school basketball in Indiana is played at a very high level, and I go to a lot of games. Rarely do I see offensive possessions last beyond 40-seconds. Those that do usually end in a turnover. Shooting the first good shot is generally a very good strategy because with every pass, the chance of a turnover is multiplied.
So why do people continue to campaign for this change as though it will fix all that is broken?
Arguments run from poorly conceived to silly. Shot clock honk Mike Hutton of the Post-Tribune says, “To be fair, most schools don’t need a shot clock, which bolsters my position. It won’t matter 90 percent of the time.” It won’t matter so why not, is a terrible reason to spend a couple grand per school in product cost and installation (given 400+ Indiana high schools fielding basketball teams, that totals $800K).
The Indianapolis Star posted quotes from the eight high school coaches who will try to win a state championship this weekend at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. A majority believes a shot clock would be a positive. That isn’t surprising given that a shot clock would theoretically give teams additional offensive possessions, and better teams benefit from more possessions.
Those eight teams are damn good.
The worst argument is that it prepares players to compete in college. I’ve talked to a lot of high school players who went on to play in college – my son among them. I have never heard one complain the adjustment to college basketball would have been made easier if only a shot clock existed in high school.
And there would be an immediate negative – an uptick in bad shots. As anyone who watches a lot of college and NBA basketball knows, the less time remaining on the clock, the more haphazard and wacky the shot.
I’m fine with the shot clock as it exists today in college and the pros, but have an aversion to the practice of fixing what isn’t broken.
“When something works, don’t touch it,” is a pretty good managerial philosophy. Indiana High School basketball works.