Slow-moving high school basketball games need a revolution: the shot clock.

Used to limit the time teams can keep ball each possession, the shot clock works well in college and professional basketball games. Yet high school games are played at a snail’s pace when teams can hold the ball forever.

The Kansas State High School Activities Association (KSHAA) should introduce the shot clock for basketball games to quicken the pace and add more excitement for players and fans.

The best atmosphere is created when games are close and there is not much time left. Having the shot clock in those situations would definitely be an advantage because teams can focus on playing defense and score when they get the ball back. They wouldn’t need to foul. They could leave the clock running and keep high pressure on the offense.

“Toward the end of the game if you try to score and try get the ball back, you can [could] just let the shot clock run down instead of having to foul the other team because they are going to hold it,” junior point guard Justin Roberts said.

College basketball embraced the shot clock for such reasons. In 1957, Oklahoma State decided to take KU star Wilt Chamberlain out of the game. The Cowboys held the ball for the last 3.5 minutes without any intention to score.

Likewise, toward the end of high school games, teams use much more time holding the ball than in any other game situation. If the players were on the clock, games would be exciting until the last second.

“If you didn’t have a shot clock like we do now then you can just hold the ball whenever you’re up and you’re scared of getting beat,” junior Bronxton McGee said. “Or a team coming back, you can just hold the ball the rest of the game and be fine. But as a fan, some people don’t want to watch a slow game like that.”

With the shot clock, teams would be rewarded for playing hard defense until the end of the game and might get the opportunity to win.

Fans, who like watching high-scoring games, would enjoy those even more. Scoring would increase because teams would have to take shots quicker in order to avoid a shot clock violation.

Additionally, scoring among players would be more balanced. High school basketball teams are often led by one or two special players, so they run their offense until one of those guys gets the ball and is able to score. The shot clock would force teams to pass the ball around because every player can hold the ball only for a limited amount of time.

Coaches like varsity head coach Mike Lewis would appreciate the shot clock. In his opinion, teams don’t hurry offensively. Having the shot clock would force those teams to quicken their offenses.

Also, the shot clock prepares players for higher levels of competition.

High school games are eight minutes shorter than college games, so the game time should be used as effectively as possible. That could be improved with the shot clock.

For this reason LHS senior guard Ben Rajewski supports introducing the shot clock.

“It makes you play faster, it may have to get you have to run your offense faster, you have to get up a shot quickly and it really benefits teams that run the transition,” he said.

Some people might say installing the shot clock for high school basketball is not worth the expense since it isn’t as competitive as college basketball. But this doesn’t have to be true.

However, the equipment can only be implemented if every high school in Kansas is able to afford the costs.

KSHAA has 384 high schools, separated in 40 different leagues. It would be a huge decision to change any rules because KSHAA has to respect the opinions and resources of each school.

If coaches and sports administrators could come together, then there is the possibility to change the regulation. As a result, fans would get more excitement for their money and teams would have more opportunities strategically.

Therefore, it is essential to introduce the shot clock for high school basketball. An amount of 30 seconds on the clock would be fine to give the game a huge change.

KSHAA has to pick up pace on this topic to speed up the game for players and fans.