High school basketball season is upon us, with boys and girls across the country taking to the hardwood for another season filled with hope and excitement. But depending upon where they play, not all of them will be playing the same game. Despite its use at nearly every other level of competitive basketball, the shot clock has yet to make its way into high school basketball in most of the country.

The shot clock is one of the most notable innovations in the history of the game. The adoption of a 24-second clock in 1954 helped jumpstart the fledgling NBA. The women’s college game was the next to add a shot clock in 1970, followed by the men in 1985. It’s also used in most international competitions.

But despite its long history and success, the shot clock has not been able to find a home at the high school level.

Entering this season, only eight states — California, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Dakota, and Washington — use a 30-second shot clock at some levels of scholastic basketball.

But in spite of its minimal use at the scholastic level, there are many out there associated with the game who have spoken out in favor of adopting the shot clock outright.

Brian Hobbs – the Bradford High boys coach – is among those in favor of a high school shot clock.

“I used to love (no shot clock). I enjoyed putting an emphasis on the defense,” Hobbs said. “But now I’ve kind of grown against it. It really punishes your defense. You can play one minute of good defense, but eventually there’s going to be a breakdown somewhere.”

Among the chief complaints from those who play without a shot clock is the use of stalling or holding the ball for extended periods of time during games. This can lead to low-scoring, uninteresting contests and takes much of the excitement out of the game.

“It definitely rewards playing solid defense,” said Hobbs, but he also added, “teams will massage the ball and work the clock, they’ll go into their zone and there’s not much you can do.”

Clark Cummings of Oswayo Valley is another coach who would like to see the implementation of the shot clock across all levels of the game.

“Obviously high school is different than college or the pros, but you see the shot clock everywhere else. I think there should be some uniformity throughout the game,” Cummings said. He can recall playing a lot of slow, deliberate, low-scoring games during his time as a player. Cummings believes adding a shot clock would be a benefit to today’s players and their approach to the game.

“You want to let the kids make plays. To me, basketball is about pace, speed, skill, and athleticism,” he said.

While both of their squads play most games without a shot clock, Hobbs and Cummings head into New York a couple of times a year. But the transition to playing with a shot clock isn’t as drastic as might be expected.

“It doesn’t affect us too much,” Hobbs said of playing in New York. “We may get two or three clock violations in a game, but again it’s only a couple games a year.”

The National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) does not allow use of a shot clock for high schools. While individual states may apply for waivers on the ruling, the NFHS has shot down numerous attempts of nationwide implementation.

The biggest issue most schools run into when determining whether to implement a shot clock is, unsurprisingly, the cost. Today’s shot clocks can cost anywhere between $2,000-$5,000, and that doesn’t include schools which might opt to purchase an entirely new scoreboard altogether.

With the kind of financial investment that many schools aren’t willing to pay, Cummings doesn’t see the shot clock coming to Pennsylvania high school basketball anytime soon.

“Anything that’s going to cost that kind of money, you’re definitely going to see it meet with some resistance,” he said.

Despite their desire for a high school shot clock, both Hobbs and Cummings said their players don’t worry about it, that they’ve gotten used to playing without one.

“The players don’t really talk about it too much,” Hobbs said. “I always try to instill a defensive philosophy in my teams. That’s always been the kind of coach I am.”

Regardless of how the coaches, players, and fans feel, it doesn’t appear that a shot clock is anywhere near coming to Pennsylvania scholastic hoops, but the interest isn’t going away anytime soon either.

“I would not be opposed at all to seeing a high school shot clock,” Cummings said.