Saw this WSJ article about Todd Golden and was reminded that the issue of how soon to bench players in foul trouble has been discussed here several times.
Excerpts from the article:
But one of the ideas he discussed in detail wasn’t just a little wonky. It was a revolutionary notion that challenged one of the core tenets of college basketball orthodoxy.
“What you see a lot of coaches do, and I don’t want to call them old school…” Golden said, before launching into his premise.
When a player collects two fouls in the first half, coaches typically send them straight to the bench to avoid a scenario where they pick up a third and are dangerously close to fouling out before halftime.
This seemed like a perfectly logical strategy, Golden explained. Except it was a load of bunk.
Why, he asked, should coaches keep their best players out of the game and limit their playing time over a fear of something that might never happen?
The logic behind the strategy is so simple that it seems impossible it was ignored by traditionalists for so long. Reflexively benching a player with two fouls in the first half puts an artificial cap on their time on the floor.
“A lot of coaches think, ‘Oh, I’m gonna save that guy for the second half when the game is on the line,’” Golden said. “What people don’t realize is that regardless of whether it’s two minutes into the game or the final minute of the game, points are worth the same across all 40 minutes”
And it’s not as if coaches get a prize for a player finishing with unused fouls. Someone who picks up two fouls in the first half might not pick up another one the rest of the way. That’s why it can be more advantageous to test the limits by letting a star stay on the court rather than simply assuming he’ll pick up additional fouls. It’s always possible to sit him later, but you can’t get back those minutes he spent on the bench.
The Data-Obsessed Coach Who’s Challenging College Basketball’s Golden Rule
Excerpts from the article:
But one of the ideas he discussed in detail wasn’t just a little wonky. It was a revolutionary notion that challenged one of the core tenets of college basketball orthodoxy.
“What you see a lot of coaches do, and I don’t want to call them old school…” Golden said, before launching into his premise.
When a player collects two fouls in the first half, coaches typically send them straight to the bench to avoid a scenario where they pick up a third and are dangerously close to fouling out before halftime.
This seemed like a perfectly logical strategy, Golden explained. Except it was a load of bunk.
Why, he asked, should coaches keep their best players out of the game and limit their playing time over a fear of something that might never happen?
The logic behind the strategy is so simple that it seems impossible it was ignored by traditionalists for so long. Reflexively benching a player with two fouls in the first half puts an artificial cap on their time on the floor.
“A lot of coaches think, ‘Oh, I’m gonna save that guy for the second half when the game is on the line,’” Golden said. “What people don’t realize is that regardless of whether it’s two minutes into the game or the final minute of the game, points are worth the same across all 40 minutes”
And it’s not as if coaches get a prize for a player finishing with unused fouls. Someone who picks up two fouls in the first half might not pick up another one the rest of the way. That’s why it can be more advantageous to test the limits by letting a star stay on the court rather than simply assuming he’ll pick up additional fouls. It’s always possible to sit him later, but you can’t get back those minutes he spent on the bench.
The Data-Obsessed Coach Who’s Challenging College Basketball’s Golden Rule
