The NCAA introduced a 45-second clock during the 1985-86 season. In 1993-94 they reduced it to 35 seconds. I don’t believe their reasoning had anything to do with the fans; they came to the understanding that any team, making the effort, should be able to get off a fairly decent shot in 35 seconds.

35 seconds, in basketball, is a long time. It’s time enough to run multiple plays, with options, and still have your one-on-one guy do his thing if all else fails. If a team can’t find a good look after all of that, either they’ve not been trying, they’re outclassed on the court, or the defense has been working very hard for that possession and deserves to be rewarded.

The four-corners is fine as an end-game offense. Please use it if up eight with two minutes go go. But it wasn’t meant to be used for the whole game, and it’s not just the fans who it bores but the players also. They want to play, to try to score; that’s what basketball is all about.

Josh, I am for a shot clock, but if there is not one instituted, I have a solution: Play some defense.

I’m old school, no shot clock.

Your last comment is the funniest: “Come on parents, coaches and fans of high school basketball, let’s have some fun playing the game.” Umm… the parents, coaches, and fans aren’t the ones playing the game. It’s the kids. And the game isn’t meant to be made exciting for the fans… Sure, that’s a plus! But it’s for the kids, for learning life lessons, for competing, and for school/community pride.

As I Tweeted yesterday (@PITmanStats), as I’m sure you saw, I agree with Cleveland Plain Dealer sports reporter Tim Warsinskey:

“Only eight states currently mandate shot clocks for boys basketball, but interest in it seems to be on the rise. The National Federation of State High School Associations considered, then rejected a proposal to make it a national rule last spring. One of the reasons cited was the cost of a shot-clock system, about $2,000.

“I’m not in favor of a shot clock because it throws out the slow-down strategy teams sometimes employ to frustrate opponents that like to run. I enjoy seeing contrasting styles collide. This isn’t the NBA. The priority isn’t to put fans in the seats with higher scoring games.”
Link: http://highschoolsports.cleveland.com/news/article/-8373601958374503038/lakewood-location-for-mentor-st-ignatius-game-puzzles-one-fan-hey-tim/

I especially like his last two sentences, that a priority of the game of high school basketball is not to put fans in the seats to watch high-scoring affairs. You say teams that do it (slow down the game) are normally “outgunned, outmanned and inferior” to those that like to run. Not at all. Less athletic? Maybe. Like to play a different style? Probably. Did you watch the Smithville/Triway tournament game a few years ago at Wooster High School? Triway was the better team that year, and Smithville was up 1 point, playing zone defense. Triway held the ball, Smithville got annoyed, and then came out of their zone to guard man-to-man. They couldn’t guard Triway, and the Titans schooled them the rest of the way, taking the lead and not letting Smithville back in their zone. Holding the ball was pure strategy, and it worked for the BETTER team.

Really, how often do you see someone literally HOLD the ball? Not very often. The most recent one I can think of is the above-mentioned instance which was years ago. I have another question: If a team is up 60-52 with 2 minutes left, obviously proving through 30 minutes that they are the better team, why should they be punished by having to force the issue on offense instead of running a “4-Corners” type of offense? They already scored 60, to make “the fans” happy. Now it’s up to the other team to try and stop them.

A shot clock clearly gives certain teams an advantage over others. It doesn’t favor the BETTER team. It favors the team that wants to play a certain style of basketball, which is outright wrong. What happens if last year’s DI State Championship game has a shot clock? Columbus Northland probably wins, in my opinion, because of their point guard play and preferred style & tempo. What was the actual result? Cincinnati LaSalle dominated the Sullinger-led Northland squad, winning the game 59-40. It was never in doubt after halftime. And don’t even think LaSalle was the inferior team that used a slower game to upset a “better” team. They were AP #3 in DI and deserved to be there.

One of the most EXCITING games I’ve EVER seen, and I’ve seen a lot for someone my age, had a final score of 36-35. Yeah, 36-35! It was a Triway-Orrville rivalry, a rematch of the regular season, for the District Championship in the Canton Memorial Fieldhouse. It was not a boring game at all. There were All-Ohio, “Wall of Fame” athletes all over the floor for both teams, who happened to play outstanding defense. Triway won that “boring” game, by the way, and was a darn good team, going on to be DII State Runner-Up.

Haha! I understand people’s frustrations with the shot clock, ‘cuz the game is not exciting enough for them already. But the above is my argument, and I don’t think anything will ever change that.