Greg Guiler had reservations about adding a shot clock to high school basketball.
The St. Mark’s boys basketball coach worried about the impact the technology would have on smaller schools in the Southwest Preparatory Conference, where his program competes.
“Slowing the game down and being methodical I felt like could be advantageous and maybe give them a chance to beat a better team, versus the shot clock game [which] kind of forces a faster pace and creates more possessions,” Guiler said. “[It would give] more talented teams, I think, night in and night out, the advantage.”
Two years ago the SPC, which governs private high schools in Texas and Oklahoma, implemented a 35-second shot clock for its conference games.
After two seasons of playing with a shot clock, Guiler appreciates it.
“Having played in a couple of games where I felt like we were the lesser team … I loved the fact that it always gave us a chance to come back,” Guiler said. “If we’re down 10 points to start the fourth quarter, I know the other team isn’t just going to stand out there at half-court and stall and burn all the clock.”
A large number of University Interscholastic League basketball coaches say they would support adding a shot clock in their games, but cost could be a barrier, particularly for smaller districts. The UIL has discussed implementing the shot clock over a two-year period, starting with the 2026-27 school year, which would place Texas among the 27 states that use the technology, according to the National Federation of State High School Associations.
A survey conducted in September revealed that 66% of boys basketball coaches and 57% of girls coaches across all of the state’s classifications support the implementation of a shot clock.
Support was higher in Class 3A and above, UIL director of athletics Ray Zepeda said, from 73% of boys coaches and 63% of girls coaches. Zepeda said nearly 80% of coaches in Texas participated in the survey.
“The results are very compelling,” he said.
Citing logistical concerns, such as cost of installation and operation, Zepeda said the responsible next step in the shot clock discussion would be to survey superintendents to gauge support, which could occur in August. The survey could be distributed the following spring, however, to take into account school funding decisions made during the 2025 legislative session.
“If school superintendents support this, [they’re] going to have to purchase shot clocks … do all the electrical work to get them in, find people [and] train them to operate,” UIL deputy director Jamey Harrison said during the June 11 standing committee on athletics meeting.
“I think our officials associations said that they don’t think that they can properly train within a year and a half, two years.”
Costs, logistics of shot clocks in other states
The California Interscholastic Federation first added a 30-second shot clock to girls basketball several decades ago.
“We decided that the shot clock was a good teaching tool and it helped speed up the game a little bit,” Brian Seymour, the federation’s associate executive director, told The Dallas Morning News.
The federation put in a 35-second shot clock for boys in 1997. Most of the shot clocks that have been used in California are integrated, Seymour said.
“The one person that’s running the scoreboard is also running the shot clock. Just like any type of electronics, they’re very user-friendly and easy to manage,” he said. " And a school could put together shot clocks with a controller for as little as 700 bucks or you could have a school pay whatever expense they want. Could be $3,500, it just depends on what they want to do.”
UIL spokesperson Julia Zachary told The News that UIL staff does not have information on projected costs for shot clock implementation in Texas.
In Georgia, the cost to purchase a system ranges from $4,000 to $6,000, depending on the type of package, Georgia High School Association associate director Darrell Lane told The News.
Last season, Georgia schools paid shot-clock operators from local officials’ associations $35 per game, which is half the varsity level fee of $70 for a crew of three floor officials working the game plus the $25 travel fee, Lane said.
“In Georgia, schools may negotiate a fee for their shot-clock operators if they decided not to utilize the officials’ association, however, those individuals still had to be certified through the state office by taking and passing a required shot-clock operator online course, and they must be over the age of 21,” Lane said.
New York schools have used the shot clock for decades, so scoreboards include the shot-clock technology during installation, New York State Public High School Athletic Association executive director Robert Zayas told The News. Zayas said schools pay about $50 per game for a shot-clock operator.
The Lincoln Journal Star reported in 2022 that it cost Lincoln Public Schools $29,700 when Nebraska added shot clocks, and installation efforts cost another $28,800 for the whole school system. LPS has a slightly smaller enrollment than Plano ISD.
Push for shot clocks in Texas
The main reason North Crowley boys basketball coach Tommy Brakel would like to see a shot clock in Texas is because it would be good for the game, he said.
Brakel has presented his case to the UIL, the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches and the NFHS.
“I had letters from everywhere, from USA Basketball to college coaches. Multiple documents that said this is the best way to prepare kids to play the game,” Brakel said.
One common misconception, he said, is that those advocating for shot clocks want to speed up the game in a way that would benefit superior teams.
“That’s not the case. It will regulate the game,” Brakel said. “If I have a better, more athletic team, then I can speed up the game without a shot clock. I’m just going to press you 94 feet. But if there’s a shot clock to help me regulate and make you play a little bit faster, then I don’t have to do that.
“So actually in a game like that, it may slow it down because the other program doesn’t feel the need to have to try to speed it up.”
The California Interscholastic Federation also heard concerns that a shot clock would create “racehorse” basketball with no defense, but Seymour said those concerns were unfounded.
“It’s worked out in California with generations of students who know no difference,” he said.
Though Guiler said he prefers that St. Mark’s compete with the shot clock to prepare for district competition, when the school hosts nonconference opponents, he gives them the option of playing without one.
“I’ve kind of assumed that most coaches would be like, ‘No, that doesn’t help us because we’re not going to be playing with that in our district play,’” Guiler said. “But I’ve been surprised that the vast majority of folks who I’ve offered that to have said, ‘Yeah, let’s do it. That sounds fun.’ And the game really didn’t change as a result of playing with the shot clock.”
On Twitter: @t_myah
Find more high school sports coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.
