In the most recent basketball season, as a player, I found myself questioning the way high school basketball was played in Pennsylvania. A lot of the rules that need changed have already been adjusted on the higher levels, everything from shot clocks to being able to wear earbuds while you warm up. These types of changes may seem minor, but also some of these have been rules since the nineteen eighties, and I believe it is time for change.
The pace of high school basketball is way too slow. Some games having only 80 points in the combine score of both teams. The only way to adjust the pace is to add a shot clock, as used in some AAU leagues, college basketball and professional leagues. Other states, such as New York and California, have already included a shot clock in schools. This clock is used to make players try to score in a certain amount of time, being 35 seconds in high schools that accept the shot clock, and it speeds up the pace of the offense. The main problem in Pennsylvania is that teams have unlimited time to shoot the ball, so it is almost like playing a glorified version of pick-up.
Another issue is referees abusing technical fouls. In the game of basketball, technical fouls are used to punish players for being unsportsmanlike. Although, in the past two seasons this rule has seemingly gotten out of hand, with refs punishing players for accidentally bumping into opponents after a shot attempt, or because they did not like the way the ball was tossed to them. This abuse of power needs to be addressed to the referees by the director of PIAA sports, to make sure this punishment isn’t used so loosely.
The final issue I want to address is referees being trigger happy with foul calls. The refs should not be able to call over 25 fouls in a game because it is a contact sport. A player should be able to lightly touch, push and bump another player without it being a foul. In basketball the rules say you are allowed to touch other players, but referees do not seem to understand this, and it really needs to be addressed.
Multiple changes need to be made in the PIAA rule book. I believe all of the changes stated, and some that have been asked for by other players or coaches, are completely reasonable and should be implemented into the sport to make it more entertaining and fun to play and watch.
