[Mark T. DeNucci, Sr.]

I have been officiating women's college basketball for 28 years now, I have quite a bit of exposure basketball games using a shot clock.

I do not like the shot clock at any level of the game: NFHS/NCAA, FIBA, or NBA/WNBA. Having said that, I could care less if we have a shot clock or not in the NCAA, FIBA, or NBA/WNBA.

The object of the game is to score more opponents than your opponent. You can do that without a shot clock. If could go back to the pre-shot clock days in NCAA Men's and do a study of all boys/girls' H.S. games, and NCAA/NAIA/NJCAA men's games played in the last five years that the NCAA Men's did not have a shot clock, I think that one would see that the percentage of games involving slow down tactics would be so microscopic that one would need an electron microscope to read it (I am sorry about the hyperbole).

The problem is that any time a slow down game occurs is that it is big news because of the fact it is so rare. When I officiate a game being played under NCAA Men's/Women's or FIBA rules I just accept the fact that we are going to be using a shot clock.

I believe that the nature of high school basketball is such that it should not go the shot clock route. I would not want a steady diet of slow down games but they are fun to watch, bit no more that one a year.

My real beef is with the alternating possession rule. I have an intense dislike of it. It may be fine for jr. H.S. age and younger players, but once the age of the players are H.S. freshmen or older, bring back the jump ball for all held balls and all other instances where the jump ball is appropriate.

This afternoon, I had a boys' H.S. freshmen game that went three overtimes, and during the third overtime period there was a controversy regarding the AP arrow. The timer who was operating the AP arrow had correctly set the arrow toward the Visitor's basket at the start of the third overtime period. With 35 sec. left in the game and the Visitors losing by three points, we had a held ball, the first one of the period and I think only the third one the entire game. But guess what, the scorer (provided by the Home school) had the Home team with the arrow. This was the second time in the game, when we had to correct the book and not the actual arrow. I know that AP arrow record in the book is what is correct and not the AP arrow itself but we had definite knowledge that the book was not correct. It did not help that the Visitors did not provide an assitant scorer.

But the best part was, while I got to go home early and watch the Team USA Men's hockey team win, my partner had to continue on to another school and officiate a boys' H.S. varsity game which when one overtime. Better him than me.

Know getting back to the point of this thread: Leave the high school game alone it does not need a shot clock. There are times when a slow down game is the only way to level the playing court. Who can forget that great NCAA tournament game between Georgetown and Princeton?