Amber Osborn remembers the difficulty she had going from a high school point guard at Grove City to a college point guard at Slippery Rock University.

It wasn't the higher level of competition or the demands of balancing basketball and schoolwork at the college level that gave her the most trouble initially.

It was something she didn't anticipate.

Adjusting to a shot clock.

“I had to run a lot of sprints in practice for not being aware of the time on the shot clock as a freshman in college,” Osborn said.

Now the girls basketball coach at Slippery Rock High, Osborn's team usually plays at a brisk pace.

If Pennsylvania had a shot clock, the impact on the Rockets would be minimal.

“We usually play an up-tempo game, although it would take time to adjust to,” Osborn said. “We have stalled many times if we are up, and that would take that aspect out of it.”

When Osborn played for the Eagles and at SRU, the talk of a high school shot clock in the state was just a murmur.

Now, it's a full-blown cry.

Eight states currently have a shot clock — California, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Dakota and Washington — of either 30 or 35 seconds.

The National Federation of State High School Associations doesn't mandate the use of a shot clock.

But that hasn't stopped coaches, fans and even players in Pennsylvania from clamoring for one.

“I hope it comes soon,” said Knoch boys basketball coach Ron McNabb. “There's been a lot of conversation about it. I just think it makes for a better game. I think it rewards the teams that are really skilled. I think it's coming.”

Butler point guard Ethan Morton, who is heading to Purdue to play his college basketball, is also strongly in favor of a shot clock.

“I've played with a shot clock in AAU ball. Most teams get off a shot within 30 or 35 seconds anyway,” Morton said. “But where it really makes a difference is toward the end of games. Teams can't sit on a lead and a shot clock keeps the trailing team in the game longer.

“I'd love to see it,” he added. “A shot clock would make an already great game even better.”

Not everyone is as sold on the idea.

Detractors

Expense is one of the stumbling blocks to a shot clock.

Schools would have to install two additional clocks at each end of the court and would also have to find someone to man it at the scoring table.

Newer baskets with a shot clock attached can cost up to $2,500.

“I understand there are a lot of administrative things that would have to happen, though, and I think that's the hang-up,” said Butler girls basketball coach Mark Maier.

Beyond the cost, there is also the factor of competitive balance.

At the high school level, “Stall-ball” is a viable strategy for the undermanned teams going up against stronger opponents.

Eliminating that strategy could also eliminate some upsets, detractors say.

“I guess I could go either way, but if you hold my feet to the fire for an answer, I'd say I'm against it,” said Seneca Valley boys coach Kevin Trost. “With a shot clock, the more talented teams are pretty much always going to win. You're forcing teams to play at a faster pace than they would want to.

“A slower pace can be an equalizer, a strategy,” Trost added, “A shot clock would take that away.”

Even McNabb, a big proponent of a shot clock now, said in the past he might not have been as enthusiastic about it.

“Teams that really slow it down and milk the clock, it would affect them, like we used to,” McNabb said. “Six years ago, our scores were in the 40s and 50s, and that would have bothered us.”

Butler boys coach Matt Clement said preference for a shot clock largely depends on what kind of team a coach had.

“I'd love to have it,” Clement said. “But I've had other teams where I'd prefer to grind out games and would prefer a different pace.”

Unintended consequences

In the northern counties of western Pennsylvania, and even at some of the smaller schools in Butler County, the game is played differently.

It's more methodical. More deliberate. More emphasis on getting stops and working for a shot.

“Rigway, Smethport, team like that, they base their teams on defense and are taking their shot when they get it,” said Moniteau boys basketball coach Mike Jewart. “It's their shot and it might take three minutes for them to get it.”

Those teams would be affected drastically by a shot clock.

Same with the Warriors, who do play fast at times, but slow it down occasionally as well.

“I've gone back and forth on this, honestly,” Jewart said. “There are times when we play teams where we are just out-matched, so we have to slow it down and we can't run with somebody.”

Jewart also said he thinks the time has come for a shot clock “mainly because I think it will accelerate some skill development — how to attack, when to attack, what's a good shot,” he said.

But it may also cause some bad basketball in the short term, he said.

“I think the first year or so may be really ugly basketball at the smaller schools,” Jewart said. “As kids adapted, it would probably come along. I think it's time.”

Fans speak out

The Twitterverse seems ready for a shot clock, too.

A Butler Eagle Twitter poll that received 179 votes overwhelmingly favored a shot clock, 70 percent to 30 percent.

Some comments defended a shot clock by saying it would force players and teams to be more skilled.

Others said it would make the game more entertaining to watch — no one wants to see a player holding the ball near mid-court for minutes at a time.

Not everyone agreed.

One post pointed out that college basketball's highest scoring period was in the mid-1970s, which had no shot clock, no 3-point line and players were not allowed to dunk.

Maier, though, said a shot clock would improve play in the long run.

“It forces teams to be better and more efficient on offense, and defensively you'll only have to focus on getting a stop every 30 to 45 seconds,” Maier said. “The end of quarters will be impacted the most because a lot of teams hold the ball in the last minute to get a last shot.

“Eventually,” Maier added, “I think we'll see a shot clock, but like most things, it will take time.”