Beginning with the 2022-23 season, states can decide to adopt and use a 35-second shot clock for high school basketball games. The National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) approved the measure that leaves open the door for major change across the hardwood landscape in coming years.
Nine states use either a 30- or 35-second shot clock, but the adoption of Rule 2-14 says that each state association may adopt a shot clock beginning in
the 2022-23 season — according to guidelines outlined in the Basketball
Rules Book — to encourage standardization among states.
“We provided the committee with a lot of information regarding the
shot clock, including responses to a 46-question survey sent to states
currently using a shot clock,” said Theresia Wynns, NFHS director of
sports and officials and liaison to the Basketball Rules Committee.
Prior to the 2020-21 season, the Georgia High School Association approved a phase-in of a 30-second shot clock for all varsity boys and girls
basketball games, becoming the ninth state to adopt a shot clock.
The Peach State joined California, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, North
Dakota, Rhode Island, South Dakota and Washington as the only states to
use a 30- or 35-second shot clock.
Guidelines approved by the NFHS include displaying two timepieces connected to a
horn that is distinctive from the game-clock horn, and using an
alternative timing device, such as a stopwatch at the scorer’s table,
for a shot clock malfunction. The guidelines also allow for corrections
to the shot clock only during the shot-clock period in which an error
occurred and the officials have definite information relative to the
mistake or malfunction.
Although a proposal for a national rule mandating a shot clock was not approved, the ruling is likely to bring momentum to the shot-clock movement across high school basketball.
According to the most recent NFHS High School Athletics Participation Survey, a
total of 540,769 boys participated in basketball in 18,617 schools,
and 399,067 girls participated in the sport in 18,210 schools across the
country. It is the third-most popular sport for boys and girls.
The NFHS paved the way for states to adopt a 35-second shot clock, like the one used in the 2019 Washington 3A semifinals.
File photo by Paul Caldwell
