A shot clock for Ohio High School basketball may be closer to becoming a reality.
But, is it a good thing?
Well, yes and no, as far as this reporter is concerned. I know that makes me sound like a politician, but relax; I am not running for office. I haven’t been elected to any post in my life and I am not likey to be.
First, from a strictly competitive standpoint I like the idea of a shot clock. In fact, I think I have used this space in the past to promote the fact that I like to see a game with a quicker pace. I am not nearly as much of a fan of a game with 40 point totals as I am a game with 70 point totals. I do not like players standing around on the perimeter and passing the ball to each other. Now, I am all for getting ball reversal and getting a good shot, but often times I think players wait for their coach to call some kind of a set play rather than just playing the game.
Additionally I think that players sometimes take a bad shot just because they think they are supposed too rather than understanding the game well enough to know what is a good shot and what is a bad shot.
I also think having a shot clock would be good training for the better high school players that will then encounter a clock when they reach the college level. You have to know how to handle a clock and still get a good shot. The talented players are the ones that handle the pressure of getting a quality look when the shot clock gets under five seconds.
But, yes there is a negative side too and that is simple, economics.
The Ohio High School Athletic Association is estimating the cost of installing shot clocks – you need two, one for each basket – to be around $5,000.
My question is where are schools going to get that kind of money? There will be some districts that can afford that cost whether it be from athletic department funds or from the booster club, but in my opinion there will be far more that can’t come up with the cash.
I am pretty sure I am right when I say that Mansfield City Schools are having financial problems that will likely result in the closing of more buildings and the slicing of staff. And they are expected to come up with $5,000 for a shot clock?
What about small schools like Mansfield St. Peter’s or Mansfield Christian? Being private schools they don’t have public meetings and their balance sheet is less available, but I would find it hard to believe that they have the funds.
In addition to the initial cost you also must consider the fact that each school would need an additional person to run the shot clock. In some cases districts are finding it difficult to find volunteers for these positions. That situation seems to be worse now than in the past. That may be more of a comment on our society than anything else, but nevertheless is the case.
So I would be in favor of a shot clock at the high school level, but not until such time that a plan could be worked out for the OHSAA to assist schools in paying for them.
After years of toil and sweat behind radio station microphones, longtime broadcaster, Jeff Swank joined the new generation of sports followers on the web.
Swank launched his internet radio station with nothing more than some wire, a box with some knobs and switches, and an itch to do much more than just scratch the surface of everything sports.
Richland Source is proud to introduce Jeff as a writer focused on high school sports. He will contribute a weekly column and analysis of a featured game of the week from one of our area high schools.
In addition to his work at Richland Source, Jeff provides complete high school sports coverage for over 70 Ohio schools at his web site, http://www.swankonsports.net76.net/.