IHSAA to consider 35-second shot clock for Indiana varsity basketball

A 35-second shot clock is no longer a theoretical tweak in Indiana high school basketball. It is headed to the IHSAA board of directors on May 4, and if approved, it would eventually change how varsity games are played across the state.

The proposal already moved through the IHSAA Executive Committee on February 20, when Indiana Basketball Coaches Association representatives Tom Beach and Michael Adams formally presented it for boys and girls basketball. Their plan called for a 35-second clock beginning in the 2027-28 school year. The version now headed to the full board would push varsity-only implementation to 2028-29, a later start that gives schools more time to budget, train officials and retrain coaches who have spent years mastering Indiana’s deliberate half-court style.

That delayed rollout matters because the shot clock would not just speed up possession counts. It would reshape the late-game chess match that has long defined Indiana basketball, especially in tight sectional and regional games where teams can protect a lead by bleeding clock and forcing opponents to chase. Coaches who rely on tempo control would have to create offense earlier in the possession. Stars who can create off the dribble would gain value. Underdogs that usually try to shorten games and keep scores close might lose one of their best equalizers.

The debate has also gained momentum from inside the coaching community. IndyStar reported in January that 68% of Indiana Basketball Coaches Association survey respondents favored adding a shot clock. That followed a 2019 snapshot in which six of eight coaches asked backed the idea, one was neutral and one opposed. The numbers suggest the argument is no longer fringe; it is becoming part of the state’s mainstream basketball conversation.

Indiana would not be moving alone. The National Federation of State High School Associations approved state adoption of a 35-second shot clock in 2021, allowing states to begin using it in the 2022-23 season. By the 2025-26 season, the federation said 32 states were using a shot clock in some form. Its guidelines call for two visible timepieces, a horn distinct from the game-clock horn and a backup timing method in case of malfunction.

For Indiana, though, the central question remains cultural as much as procedural: does the game fans actually watch become better when teams are forced to create offense, or does the shot clock erase some of the state’s trademark patience? The answer could start taking shape when the IHSAA board meets in May, but the full impact would not reach varsity gyms for three more seasons.