Aya Abdeen is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Desert Ridge High School for AZPreps365.com

The Arizona Interscholastic Association implemented new shot clock guidelines for high school basketball, effective for the 2022-23 season.

This announcement came after the National Federation of State High School Associations adopted a 35-second shot clock option in May 2021. Eight states, including California, New York, and Washington, were already using shot clocks.

Four out of the six conferences in Arizona voted in 2021 to approve the new shot clock rules. Those conferences were 3A, 4A, 5A, and 6A. Desert Ridge High School, a 6A school, is among the schools that will implement the shot clock this season.

The new guidelines state that the shot clock will be 35 seconds, and will start over if a player commits a foul, a possession is modified, or a ball hits the rim.

From an article published by AIA Director of Sports Information Seth Polansky of AZPreps365, four states had already passed the new shot clock guidelines. Arizona will be the fifth state to do so, joining Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, and Utah.

Polansky said that the new guidelines are more fan-oriented and the shot clock “generates more excitement.”

“We’re here to entertain. We’re here to have fun,” Polansky said. “We don’t want to just go through the motions of overseeing basketball and you got to play by the rules. People want to see this and they think it’s going be fun so we’re going to make it fun for them.”

However, the new shot clock is more than for the spectacle of the game. It historically has impacted how the game is played.

According to a 2015 article on WBur by Keely Flanagan, National Basketball Association owners voted to install a 24-second shot clock in 1954.

It became a game changer. The shot clock forced teams to be more focused on offense. Players could no longer hold the ball for much of the game because the shot clock forced them to get the ball up.

Flanagan said owners had incentive to adopt the clock because “a low-scoring, time-killing breed of basketball was taking over the league.” Four years before the vote, the NBA’s lowest-scoring game in league history took place: The Fort Wayne Pistons beating the Minneapolis Lakers, 19-18.

At the collegiate level, there was initially resistance to implement a shot clock. However, low-scoring games in the 1970s ushered in support. The NCAA implemented a 45-second shot clock ahead of the 1985-86 season, then reduced it to 35 seconds before cutting it to 30 seconds ahead of the 2015-26 season. According to Flanagan’s article on WBur, teams averaged four more points and 3.5 possessions per game after shot clocks were implemented.

The shot clock could similarly affect how high school basketball is played.

However, Desert Ridge boys basketball head coach Greg Ream said he doesn’t think it will impact their team’s style necessarily.

“I don’t think the way we play, we’re going to have to adjust as much,” Ream said. “But we’re going to have to adjust to other teams — how they’re playing and how they implement their stuff. If we don’t get an early shot, then it might change how we play. Teams can’t just hold the ball anymore, so that’s something that some teams are going to have to adjust to.”

Assistant coach Steve Walsh reinstated Ream’s point on the Jaguars’ ball handling.

“Defensively it’ll be a little bit different,” Walsh said. “As far as offense goes, I don’t think much, but defensively we might have to change things up because certain teams that would like to play slower will speed up their game so we’ll have to change a little bit of strategy there.”

Ream said players will need to be observant to adjust to the new shot clock rules. However, they aren’t the only ones who will need to keep a close eye. 

“Probably the thing I worry about is who’s running the shot clock,” Ream said. “They’ve got to pay attention and to know those rules. So hopefully, that works out.”

Nationally, the usage of shot clocks in high school basketball was prohibited before 2021, according to NFHS Assistant director of Publications and Communications Chris Boone.

Thirty four states voted against implementing a shot clock in high school basketball. However, there were 17 states that agreed to install the shot clock. Arizona is one of them, with the exception of the 1A and 2A conferences.

“Prior to this year, there were approximately 10 states that used a shot clock,” Boone said. “By implementing a shot clock not allowed by NFHS rules, those states forfeited an opportunity to have a representative on the NFHS Basketball Rules Committee.”

The Basketball Rules Committee, a part of the NFHS, stated that the shot clock guidelines strongly recommend schools to install the shot clock system, but do not need to require it. 

Before the new shot clock guidelines were implemented, Polansky said the AIA used the shot clock in a tournament in Mesa over the course of two years in order to collect data on average possession.

A game Polansky noted where a shot clock could really impact a game’s outcome was the 6A State Championship Semifinal match between Perry High School and Brophy Prep that went into triple overtime.

“In the first overtime, the team just held the ball for five minutes,” Polansky said. “They didn’t do anything; they attempted to make a shot and missed it. So, we went to a second overtime with no points. … And then, in the third overtime, Perry finally won by outscoring Brophy, 4-2.”

Perry went on to win the 2022 6A championship, beating Hamilton 48-38.

Desert Ridge was ranked No. 21 in the 6A Conference rankings and beat No. 12 Tucson in the conference play-in, but fell to top-seeded Sunnyslope in the first round of the state championship. The team finished the season 7-12 overall.

Desert Ridge began its season Nov. 21 in Gilbert, going 0-4 in the Welcome to the Jungle Holiday Tournament. It fell to Sunnyslope Nov. 29 and will host Campo Verde Dec. 1 at 7 p.m.