A long awaited change could be coming to Pennsylvania high school basketball in the 2028-29 season.
The Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) has been a part of the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) since 1925, which is a national organization that writes rules for each sport and advocates for athletes, prioritizing their health and safety in every rule and regulation they make.
The PIAA adopts rules and regulations for each sport that the NFHS puts out, with the exception of four sports.
Currently, 31 states plan on having shot clocks for the 2026-27 season. This is part of a new wave that began in 2021 after the NFHS recommended to all states that the shot clock be adopted.
In the world of basketball, the shot clock is standardized in professional leagues and college basketball. It is a clock that counts down at the beginning of each possession, that if it runs out, forces the team in possession to turn the ball over. This forces teams to shoot the ball or turn it over before the clock runs out.
In the National Basketball Association (NBA), the shot clock is set to 24 seconds. The NFHS’ proposed time for high school basketball in Pennsylvania is 35 seconds.
The PIAA needs to successfully vote three times on this issue in order for it to pass, and as of publication date, have passed one of these votes.
The shot clock can have massive impacts on the game of basketball, as a lack of one makes it easy for teams to hold the ball while they’re up. With a shot clock, the game has to go on, and players have to keep playing at a certain pace to meet the clock.
“I think it is [a necessary change]. 35 seconds is reasonable. I think anything less than that would be kind of pushing the pace of play a little bit too much, and forcing a different style of play,” junior basketball player Ryan Schofield said. “Penncrest [for example], they play with a very slow pace of play, and it wears down defenses. It’s a very smart approach, but the games are very low scoring. … When you see those different paces of play clash, and there’s no shot clock, it is very messy.”
Schofield identifies that some teams won’t be able to keep up. It is already seen in the Central League that slower and faster teams have clashes which can get “messy.” A shot clock forces those slower teams to adapt, and play on the same level as other teams.
Senior basketball player Paul Oblek highlights this as well. “I think it’ll make the game more enjoyable, because any team won’t be able to just run out the clock the entire game. It’ll give teams an actual chance to score,” Oblek said. “Some teams will benefit from it, some teams won’t.”
“Personally, I’m a huge proponent of it,” boys basketball head coach Tim Livingstone said about the proposed changes. “I prefer a faster pace game… It’s a better game for kids to play in, and for fans to watch.”
The change could have impacts beyond the high school basketball court.
“For the next level, obviously not many kids get to play [at] the collegiate level… regardless, for those that do, I think it’ll obviously better prepare them for a shot clock at the collegiate level,” Livingstone said.
As for Strath Haven basketball, the team should be well prepared for the change in pace.
“We already play with a little more pace than people might be accustomed to in the past… [for example], some of the drills we do and things of that nature,” Livingstone said. “Kids that aren’t thinking about it [the shot clock], need to think about it, because it isn’t a fairy tale.”
Plans for these shot clocks include high costs, as schools have to pay for a shot clock, and then train and pay somebody to operate it.
The PIAA hopes that by giving three years to implement this change, schools will be able to raise funding for the big change.
