CLEVELAND — Orange High School head basketball coach Marvin Rashad said whether it’s freshman, JV or varsity, a lack of a shot clock slows down the game and can take the fun out of it.

What You Need To Know

  • An Ohio basketball coach weighed in on whether there should be a shot clock in varisty basketball

  • The OHSAA said there is no momentum right now to implement shot clocks

  • 27 other states use shot clocks, according to the National Federation of High School Associations

“It is no fun to sit there and watch somebody hold the ball, take the air out of the ball,” Rashad said. “The game is not taught that way. So why would we coach our kids that way, all for the betterment of a strategy of a game?”

He said adding a shot clock would change the strategy on both ends of the floor. 

“If you go watch the game. Shot’s going up in 35 seconds anyway, in most games.”

According to the National Federation of State High School Associations, 27 states use a shot clock in some capacity in high school basketball and five of them started using one this season. 

“We’re a little behind,” said Doug Graham of the Ohio High School Basketball Coaches Association. “Every year it seems like there’s two to four states that are implementing the shot clock.”

Graham said many of his member coaches are in favor of the shot clock. Those against them had questions about their cost and implementation.

“I can sell a kid on playing defense for 30 seconds,” Graham said. 

Spectrum News reached out to the OHSAA about whether they’d join states with a shot clock and a spokesperson said it is a topic that comes up time to time, but added that there is no momentum towards adding shot clocks.

Tim Porter is the Athletic Director at Orange high school. He has browsed some models of shot clocks and said they’re not cheap. They could cost $5,000  for the two of them. 

“Uh right now, no,” Porter said when asked if the money is in his budget. “I’m probably going to have to ask for an extension on my budget going into next year if we were to go down this road.”

On top of buying two shot clocks and installing them, he’d have to hire someone to work the shot clock, which can add up quickly.

“22 games between 11 boys and 11 girls’ games,” Porter said. He added it would be an extra $1,100 a year to pay someone to work the shot clock. 

Porter said officials would also have to adapt to the new rules around the shot clock. But coach Rashad would just focus on his players and game plan. If a 35 second shot clock is added, he said he could adapt since he had a shot clock when he played in college, and he already implements time into his practice routine.

“We try to time everything,” Rashad said. “Segments, water, workout sessions. Everything is on the clock.”

The National Federation of High School State Associations started allowing shot clocks in 2020. That same year, LeBron James himself tweeted out that he supports shot clocks in high school basketball in his home state.