High School Shot Clock Rules

There are currently only eight states that use a shot clock for their high school boy's and girl's basketball teams. These states include California, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, North Dakota, South Dakota, Rhode Island and Washington. These states use a 35-second clock for boy's and a 30-second shot for girls. The rules for running the shot clock are consistent between all states.

  1. Start and Stop

    • The shot clock in high school basketball starts when a team gains possession on an inbound pass, a jump ball, or a loose ball after a rebound or jump ball. On an inbound pass, the official will signal that a player has touched the ball and that the clock should start. The shot clock should stop when an official's whistle sounds.

    Reset

    • There is a full reset of the shot clock in high school basketball when there is a change of possession, when there is a personal or technical foul, when a shot hits the rim or flange, when there is a violation, and when there is an accidental whistle with no team control. The shot clock will get reset to 15 seconds when there is a kick or fisted ball with 14 seconds or less on the shot clock. There is no reset when the offense retains the ball after a held ball or out of bounds violation, when there is an intentionally kicked or fisted ball with 15 or more seconds on the clock, when there is an injured player, timeout, double foul or accidental whistle.

    Run and Turn Off

    • The shot clock should run in high school basketball when there is a loose ball or when there is a try at a field goal. Conversely, the shot clock should turn off when there is a reset situation and when there is less than 35 seconds on the game clock.