The Allderdice basketball team traveled to New York to play St. Peters of Staten Island on December 20th. There was an interesting element to the game that was unfamiliar to the Allderdice team: The shot clock. It had a significant impact, causing three to four turnovers on shot clock violations for the Dragons as opposed to St. Peter's one shot clock-related turnover. Dice still battled hard against St. Peters 6 '5” star forward, Talib Martin, who has multiple D1 collegiate offers. Martin had multiple breakaway dunks that excited the crowd. Dice went into the half winning, but after a rocky 3rd quarter, Dice eventually fell 63-55, falling to 2-5 on the season.

The game's pace was faster due to the shot clocks, which caused more breakaways and made it feel more chaotic. The 30-second shot clock also messed up the attempted rhythm of set plays. Most teams do not play a possession style of basketball; they just want to score as much as possible.

Allderdice Head Coach Devin Crummie did not attack the game too differently; even with a shot clock, he barely changed the game plan. However, he believes that if a shot clock were implemented, he would be forced to change the game plan, using more ISO and pick-and-roll action, similar to Pitt Men’s Basketball.

Coach Crummie would be a big advocate for PA adding a shot clock for three reasons. First, he believes that the shot clock would help Dice’s strategy of fast breaks and runs, as they rarely run their plays fully through. Secondly, he feels that it would make everyone better as they would have less time to make decisions and would have to create better shots. Finally, he thinks the shot clock would help players transition to college basketball.

Starting point guard Markus Kuhn, who mainly runs the offense, had only positive things to say about the shot clock. He feels the team had more of a sense of urgency during the St. Peters game, relying more on downhill drives than quick threes. They made more twos on average in the St. Peters game, mostly drives and layups. He is also an advocate for adding a shot clock in PA as he feels that comebacks will be easier and more often because of the limited amount of time each team could have the ball.

Seton La Salle transfer and Varsity Starter Anthony Abrams felt that in the game against St. Peters, the team did not need to rush their shots or slow down the play either. He also believes that the tempo of Dice’s game plan would fit perfectly if a shot clock were implemented in High School. He also advocates for the shot clock to be added to PA High School basketball as he feels that he will have more opportunities to score, praising his point guard Markus Kuhn as an excellent facilitator.

One of the main reasons Pennsylvania does not have shot clocks is the cost. A pair of shot clocks can range from $2,000 to $7,000. This would be a massive part of the budget for any athletic department and could take away opportunities from other teams. However, if a shot clock is added, referees will most likely be affected the most. Referees would need to go through an entirely new training course on how the shot clocks work and how to help advise operators if there is confusion. Additionally, the shot clocks need specific operators who must be adequately trained and taught how to use a shot clock. This can also raise concerns as home team operators could be biased. For all these reasons, it may take up to two years for a vote on a shot clock and then to prepare for it.

Despite these inconveniences, 27 states already have a shot clock, and the NFHS recommends that all states adopt one. The shot clock is a very supported addition to High School Basketball and could be added as regulation in Pennsylvania due to support from coaches, players, and NFHS.