Basketball shot clock to be phased in, get full use by 2022

GHSF Daily

Georgia became the first Southern state to adopt the shot clock for high school basketball Tuesday when the GHSA’s executive committee voted 53-10 to phase it in over three years and make it mandatory by 2022-23.

In the coming season, a 30-second shot clock can be used only in GHSA-approved

holiday tournaments or showcase games. In 202122, it can be used in region games. By 2022-23, it will be mandatory for all games, including the state playoffs.

“I’ve always been an advocate of the shot clock because if you play real good defense, if you stop somebody for 30 seconds, you get rewarded,” said Michael Reddick, entering his 22nd season as South Atlanta’s boys coach this year. “A lot of teams, if they have a smart-headed point guard, they’ll pull the ball out and reset the offense.”

Reddick, whose teams won state titles in 2009 and 2017, also believes the shot clock will make the game more entertaining for fans, preventing teams from playing the clock to sit on leads. It also will better prepare college-bound players.

Southwest DeKalb’s Kathy

Richey-Walton, whose girls teams have won five state titles, had a different take. She opposes the shot clock, though she felt her teams would have the talent to benefit. She just fears that it will de-emphasize passing and team play.

“It won’t be as much of a team thing, working the ball, getting everybody involved,’’ Richey-Walton said. “Now we’ll have to teach them to get up and down quick and look for quick hitters. In college, they have the talent to play that transitional game and not look helter-skelter. … I can adjust, but I’m a little nostalgic.”

The argument against the shot clock largely is one of finances, though, and not style. The cost of purchasing and installing a shot clock and paying an official to run it could cost between $1,000 and $10,000, according to several estimates.

The National Federation of High School Associations voted down a proposal to mandate shot clocks nationwide. According to MaxPreps, the only states that required shot clocks last season were California, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Dakota and Washington.