Shot-clock by States
State 		Boys 		Girls
  	  	 
California 	35 seconds 	30 seconds
Maryland 	35 seconds 	30 seconds
Massachusetts 	30 seconds 	30 seconds
New York 	35 seconds 	30 seconds
North Dakota 	35 seconds 	30 seconds
Rhode Island 	35 seconds 	30 seconds
South Dakota 	35 seconds 	35 seconds
Washington 	35 seconds 	30 seconds

shot-clock

(5-4-17) Maryland public schools athletics officials have adopted major changes in several sports for the 2017-18 school year, including adding a 35-second shot clock for boys basketball.

The changes were approved by the Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association (MPSSAA)  Executive Council and Board of Control last week while attending the annual State Athletic Directors’ Conference in Ocean City.

Andy Warner, Executive Director of the MPSSAA told the Baltimore Sun:

“This is not something that’s just crept up recently. This is something the basketball committee has talked about for a little while now. They even surveyed some of their schools regarding the shot clock for boys and there was a strong majority of coaches who were interested in instituting a shot clock for boys.”

Girls basketball in the Maryland state public schools has used a 30-second shot clock for about 30 years. The boys Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association and Baltimore Catholic League adopted a 35-second shot clock back in 2012.

Shot clocks for high school basketball is a ‘hot topic’ around the US, other states are looking at adding this in the future.

In a recent Quincy (Illinois) Herald-Whig story:

Brown County girls basketball coach David Phelps who has served on the basketball advisory committee with the Illinois High School Association:

“We talk about who is ready for it and how much it would cost. It was more just an information-gathering thing to see if it needed to be passed on. I’m not sure how important the National Federation deems the shot clock or whether they’ve got an idea down the road.”

Mexico assistant principal Ed Costley, who serves on the the Missouri State High School Activities Association’s basketball advisory committee:

“In my two years, it’s been a topic of discussion. The biggest thing that holds it off is the National Federation does not accept it. That keeps most states from jumping into it.”

The National Federation of State High School Associations rulebook does not allow the use of a shot clock, but each individual state association can decide on implementing the change. Presently eight states — California, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Dakota and Washington — use a shot clock.  However, making a change outside of NFHS rules means those states forfeit a seat on the basketball rules committee with the NFHS. States that play halves instead of quarters, like Wisconsin and Minnesota also are not allowed to participate on the NFHS basketball committee.  That rule and a lost opportunity to have input on future rule changes has slowed many states from making changes, like the shot-clock and playing halves.

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