Let’s take inventory on how every coach in college hoops handles foul trouble. To make this as simple as possible, for each head coach I’m going to determine how often a starter with two fouls is on the floor in the first half. As shown in the previous post in this series, there’s a lot more context to account for with respect to players in second-half foul trouble, so for now, we’ll ignore that in the interest of providing a number that’s simple to interpret.

To make this happen, I’m using the last seven seasons of play-by-play data. I’ve sampled every game at each minute of the first half. For example, with exactly 19:00 left, I’m checking if there is a starter with two fouls and whether that starter is on the floor, then repeating this for 18:00 and each minute thereafter all the way to the end of the half.

This is essentially a random sample of the data, especially when you consider I am throwing out situations where the play-by-play data doesn’t allow one to definitively know who is on the floor. But it’s going to uncover each coach’s tendencies quite well. Just don’t take the percentages beyond the decimal point as a literal record of what’s happened in the last seven seasons. It’s reasonably close to what happened given the limitations of the data.

Among gentlemen that have coached in all seven seasons of the sample, Tubby Smith has been the most protective of starters with two fouls. He’s let a starter play just 64 of a possible 1,310 foul-troubled minutes, or 4.9% of the time. Memphis fans, you’ve been warned.

But there may be a new sheriff on the scene. SMU head coach Tim Jankovich played a starter with two fouls just 13 of a possible 798 minutes (1.6%) in his three seasons at Illinois State for which we have data.

There are also coaches who don’t go nuts if a starter has two fouls, but one rises above them all. Western Carolina’s Larry Hunter is the only person to coach in each of the past seven seasons that has his two-foul starters on the floor more often than on the bench. Of 2,135 minutes where a Catamount starter had two first-half fouls since 2010, they were on the floor for 1,189 of them, or 55.7%.

His starters tend to commit a lot of fouls and perhaps a small reason for that is they know there won’t be a quick hook when they get whistled for a second. Not only does Hunter lead the nation in percentage but over the past seven seasons, the 1,189 foul-troubled minutes by WCU is significantly ahead of the next most aggressive team over that time (Oakland, 1,067).

Who is Larry Hunter? Perhaps he’s a visionary. Or some kind of irresponsible madman. He’s coached for 23 years including a previous 12-year run at Ohio. He’s won 375 games. He shares a name with a famous computational biologist. So there are a lot of reasons to think he knows what he’s doing. But does he?

The Catamounts went 10-8 in SoCon play and 16-18 overall but that doesn’t tell you anything about whether the strategy was effective. Their starters fouled out 25 times which tied for second with Nevada, behind Washington’s 34. If the goal is to maximize starters’ minutes, Larry Hunter was successful at that. But the goal is to improve one’s chances of winning and whether that was achieved is unknown from the information given. Nonetheless, while every coach restricts first half playing time for a player with two fouls, it’s clear some are way more flexible than others.

Here’s the data on all 321 active D-I coaches that have at least one year of experience in the books since the 2009-10 season:

Minutes Minutes PctMin Rank Coach (Seasons) Team 2-Fouls On On 1 Larry Hunter (7) Western Carolina 2135 1189 55.7 2 Keith Richard (6) Louisiana Monroe 1777 939 52.8 3 Ron Hunter (7) Georgia St. 1925 948 49.2 4 Jim Boeheim (7) Syracuse 1651 810 49.1 5 Greg Kampe (7) Oakland 2209 1067 48.3 6 George Ivory (7) Arkansas Pine Bluff 1758 849 48.3 7 Dave Simmons (7) McNeese St. 1555 707 45.5 8 Randy Bennett (7) Saint Mary's 1782 804 45.1 9 Matthew Driscoll (7) North Florida 1690 756 44.7 10 Bob Walsh (2) Maine 576 254 44.1 11 Gregg Nibert (7) Presbyterian 1726 755 43.7 12 Byron Samuels (2) Florida A&M 472 203 43.0 13 Tim O'Shea (7) Bryant 2114 900 42.6 14 Tim Floyd (6) UTEP 1735 728 42.0 15 Bryce Drew (5) Vanderbilt 1294 541 41.8 16 Eddie Payne (7) USC Upstate 1701 695 40.9 17 Mike Brey (7) Notre Dame 1498 607 40.5 18 Matthew Graves (3) South Alabama 768 306 39.8 19 Jimmy Patsos (7) Siena 2724 1065 39.1 20 Jay Ladner (2) Southeastern Louisiana 595 232 39.0 21 Mike Maker (2) Marist 517 201 38.9 22 Lorenzo Romar (7) Washington 2464 952 38.6 23 Russ Pennell (2) Central Arkansas 614 237 38.6 24 Tommy Dempsey (7) Binghamton 1951 750 38.4 25 Cameron Dollar (7) Seattle 2075 795 38.3 26 Brian Katz (7) Sacramento St. 1949 738 37.9 27 Kelvin Sampson (2) Houston 531 200 37.7 28 Dave Wojcik (3) San Jose St. 1121 422 37.6 29 Scott Drew (7) Baylor 2061 766 37.2 30 Gravelle Craig (5) Bethune Cookman 1542 565 36.6 31 Jeff Lebo (7) East Carolina 1727 625 36.2 32 Sean Miller (7) Arizona 2168 768 35.4 33 James Whitford (3) Ball St. 901 315 35.0 34 Marvin Menzies (7) UNLV 1725 603 35.0 35 Doc Sadler (5) Southern Miss 1171 400 34.2 36 Dana Ford (2) Tennessee St. 623 212 34.0 37 Greg Herenda (3) Fairleigh Dickinson 982 332 33.8 38 Herb Sendek (6) Santa Clara 1937 654 33.8 39 Roy Williams (7) North Carolina 1838 617 33.6 40 Scott Sutton (7) Oral Roberts 2039 683 33.5 41 Keno Davis (6) Central Michigan 1186 393 33.1 42 Josh Pastner (7) Georgia Tech 2502 826 33.0 43 Mike Krzyzewski (7) Duke 2383 784 32.9 44 Ken Burmeister (3) Incarnate Word 634 208 32.8 45 Phil Cunningham (3) Troy 610 199 32.6 46 Dan McHale (1) Eastern Kentucky 320 104 32.5 47 Bill Coen (7) Northeastern 1838 596 32.4 48 Tony Shaver (7) William & Mary 1180 380 32.2 49 Ernie Kent (3) Washington St. 860 276 32.1 50 Steve Wojciechowski (2) Marquette 416 133 32.0 51 Pat Duquette (3) UMass Lowell 854 273 32.0 52 Chris Holtmann (5) Butler 1249 393 31.5 53 King Rice (5) Monmouth 1300 409 31.5 54 Pat Skerry (5) Towson 1552 488 31.4 55 Jeff Neubauer (7) Fordham 1534 476 31.0 56 Mike Lonergan (7) George Washington 1458 451 30.9 57 Ray Giacoletti (3) Drake 609 188 30.9 58 Dennis Cutts (3) UC Riverside 956 293 30.6 59 Chris Mullin (1) St. John's 295 90 30.5 60 Todd Simon (1) Southern Utah 328 100 30.5 61 John Thompson III (7) Georgetown 2302 698 30.3 62 Joe Golding (3) Abilene Christian 827 249 30.1 63 Tim Duryea (1) Utah St. 186 56 30.1 64 Andrew Toole (6) Robert Morris 1967 592 30.1 65 Sean Woods (7) Morehead St. 2862 860 30.0 66 Andre Payne (2) Mississippi Valley St. 294 87 29.6 67 Jim Hayford (5) Eastern Washington 1530 451 29.5 68 Rod Barnes (7) Cal St. Bakersfield 1836 537 29.2 69 Tony Benford (4) North Texas 710 206 29.0 70 Al Skinner (2) Kennesaw St. 477 138 28.9 71 Matt McMahon (1) Murray St. 398 115 28.9 72 Duggar Baucom (7) The Citadel 1960 554 28.3 73 Ben Howland (5) Mississippi St. 1398 395 28.3 74 Jim Les (7) UC Davis 2025 571 28.2 75 Jayson Gee (3) Longwood 794 218 27.5 76 Ed Cooley (7) Providence 2012 551 27.4 77 Tod Kowalczyk (7) Toledo 1580 432 27.3 78 Travis DeCuire (2) Montana 592 161 27.2 79 Bob Williams (7) UC Santa Barbara 1798 479 26.6 80 Reggie Theus (3) Cal St. Northridge 1054 280 26.6 81 Tom Crean (7) Indiana 2153 564 26.2 82 Craig Smith (2) South Dakota 508 133 26.2 83 Cliff Ellis (7) Coastal Carolina 1545 400 25.9 84 Marty Wilson (5) Pepperdine 1235 319 25.8 85 Tim Miles (7) Nebraska 2315 596 25.7 86 Avery Johnson (1) Alabama 367 94 25.6 87 Mike Young (7) Wofford 1387 352 25.4 88 Mark Gottfried (5) North Carolina St. 1711 433 25.3 89 Kyle Smith (6) San Francisco 1168 294 25.2 90 Tim Cluess (6) Iona 1877 471 25.1 91 Keith Dambrot (7) Akron 1819 456 25.1 92 Wes Miller (5) UNC Greensboro 1552 389 25.1 93 Chris Collins (3) Northwestern 775 193 24.9 94 Shawn Walker (2) Grambling St. 459 114 24.8 95 Niko Medved (3) Furman 788 194 24.6 96 Tommy Amaker (7) Harvard 1776 433 24.4 97 Jim Christian (7) Boston College 2224 536 24.1 98 Rob Murphy (5) Eastern Michigan 1174 282 24.0 99 Eran Ganot (1) Hawaii 443 106 23.9 100 Tyler Geving (7) Portland St. 1663 394 23.7 101 Willis Wilson (5) Texas A&M Corpus Chris 1224 287 23.4 102 Bruce Pearl (4) Auburn 1076 251 23.3 103 Roman Banks (5) Southern 1145 267 23.3 104 Rob Krimmel (4) St. Francis PA 831 192 23.1 105 Mark Schmidt (7) St. Bonaventure 2201 506 23.0 106 John Giannini (7) La Salle 2020 463 22.9 107 Nate Oats (1) Buffalo 394 90 22.8 108 Leon Rice (6) Boise St. 1682 384 22.8 109 Steve Alford (7) UCLA 2033 461 22.7 110 Kareem Richardson (3) UMKC 831 186 22.4 111 Don Verlin (7) Idaho 2074 463 22.3 112 Buzz Williams (7) Virginia Tech 1808 402 22.2 113 Dan Monson (7) Long Beach St. 2087 464 22.2 114 Danny Kaspar (7) Texas St. 1505 334 22.2 115 Brian Fish (2) Montana St. 598 132 22.1 116 Ritchie McKay (1) Liberty 387 85 22.0 117 Anthony Latina (3) Sacred Heart 766 168 21.9 118 Tracy Dildy (6) Chicago St. 1826 399 21.9 119 Andy Enfield (5) USC 1250 269 21.5 120 Orlando Antigua (2) South Florida 542 116 21.4 121 Brian Wardle (6) Bradley 1864 398 21.4 122 Rick Stansbury (3) Western Kentucky 628 134 21.3 123 Mike Martin (4) Brown 1087 231 21.3 124 Chris Casey (3) Niagara 938 199 21.2 125 Dana Altman (7) Oregon 1887 400 21.2 126 Kevin Willard (7) Seton Hall 1990 421 21.2 127 Mike McConathy (7) Northwestern St. 1774 373 21.0 128 Steve Forbes (1) East Tennessee St. 324 68 21.0 129 Larry Eustachy (7) Colorado St. 1905 395 20.7 130 Kevin Nickelberry (6) Howard 2329 481 20.7 131 Kevin Baggett (4) Rider 994 205 20.6 132 Steve Fisher (7) San Diego St. 1475 304 20.6 133 Bobby Hurley (3) Arizona St. 830 171 20.6 134 John Groce (7) Illinois 1942 400 20.6 135 Tim Craft (3) Gardner Webb 623 128 20.5 136 Corey Williams (3) Stetson 683 140 20.5 137 Kevin Stallings (7) Pittsburgh 1914 392 20.5 138 Mark Few (7) Gonzaga 2183 446 20.4 139 Pat Chambers (7) Penn St. 2734 557 20.4 140 John Becker (5) Vermont 1271 256 20.1 141 Steve Prohm (5) Iowa St. 1584 318 20.1 142 John Gallagher (6) Hartford 1570 309 19.7 143 Earl Grant (2) College of Charleston 747 147 19.7 144 Steve Masiello (5) Manhattan 1674 329 19.7 145 Steve McClain (1) Illinois Chicago 275 54 19.6 146 Mike Dunlap (2) Loyola Marymount 608 118 19.4 147 Jamion Christian (4) Mount St. Mary's 1124 218 19.4 148 Fran O'Hanlon (7) Lafayette 1593 306 19.2 149 Steve Donahue (6) Penn 1333 256 19.2 150 Bill Evans (4) Idaho St. 753 144 19.1 151 Gary Waters (7) Cleveland St. 2882 547 19.0 152 Bill Carmody (5) Holy Cross 1216 230 18.9 153 Craig Neal (3) New Mexico 709 133 18.8 154 Barclay Radebaugh (7) Charleston Southern 1671 312 18.7 155 Johnny Dawkins (7) UCF 2468 457 18.5 156 Jason Gardner (2) IUPUI 604 111 18.4 157 Dave Loos (7) Austin Peay 1509 277 18.4 158 Bob Marlin (7) Louisiana Lafayette 2175 398 18.3 159 Travis Ford (7) Saint Louis 2457 443 18.0 160 James Green (7) Jacksonville St. 1725 311 18.0 161 Mike Davis (7) Texas Southern 1651 297 18.0 162 Anthony Evans (7) FIU 2147 381 17.7 163 Jim Engles (7) Columbia 1686 299 17.7 164 Fran Dunphy (7) Temple 2134 376 17.6 165 Kevin Keatts (2) UNC Wilmington 739 130 17.6 166 Dan Majerle (3) Grand Canyon 809 142 17.6 167 Shaka Smart (7) Texas 2091 367 17.6 168 Phil Martelli (7) Saint Joseph's 1622 280 17.3 169 Scott Cross (7) UT Arlington 1753 302 17.2 170 Dave Pilipovich (4) Air Force 976 168 17.2 171 James Jones (7) Yale 1678 287 17.1 172 Chris Mack (7) Xavier 2065 352 17.0 173 Russell Turner (6) UC Irvine 1295 219 16.9 174 LeVelle Moton (7) North Carolina Central 2169 364 16.8 175 Mark Price (1) Charlotte 293 49 16.7 176 Derrin Hansen (5) Nebraska Omaha 1311 219 16.7 177 Mark Byington (3) Georgia Southern 588 98 16.7 178 Wayne Tinkle (7) Oregon St. 2220 368 16.6 179 Dan Earl (1) VMI 225 37 16.4 180 Steve Hawkins (7) Western Michigan 1962 322 16.4 181 Mark Pope (1) Utah Valley 183 30 16.4 182 Mike Rhoades (2) Rice 428 70 16.4 183 Joe Mihalich (7) Hofstra 2438 394 16.2 184 Casey Alexander (5) Lipscomb 1382 223 16.1 185 Dan Muller (4) Illinois St. 1291 208 16.1 186 Danny Manning (4) Wake Forest 1129 181 16.0 187 Bob Hoffman (7) Mercer 1742 279 16.0 188 Zach Spiker (7) Drexel 1387 222 16.0 189 Dan D'Antoni (2) Marshall 694 111 16.0 190 Edward Joyner Jr (7) Hampton 2190 350 16.0 191 Brett Reed (7) Lehigh 1515 242 16.0 192 Rob Senderoff (5) Kent St. 1199 190 15.8 193 Dan Hurley (6) Rhode Island 2096 332 15.8 194 Jim Fox (2) Appalachian St. 550 87 15.8 195 Andy Kennedy (7) Mississippi 2481 391 15.8 196 Matt Painter (7) Purdue 1925 301 15.6 197 Horace Broadnax (7) Savannah St. 1633 253 15.5 198 Mark Turgeon (7) Maryland 1631 252 15.5 199 John Dunne (7) Saint Peter's 1525 235 15.4 200 Jerod Haase (4) Stanford 904 137 15.2 201 John Brannen (1) Northern Kentucky 363 55 15.2 202 Eric Musselman (1) Nevada 513 77 15.0 203 Jay Wright (7) Villanova 2179 327 15.0 204 Randy Rahe (7) Weber St. 1642 246 15.0 205 Bill Herrion (7) New Hampshire 1903 285 15.0 206 Bill Self (7) Kansas 2120 317 15.0 207 Chris Mooney (7) Richmond 1680 250 14.9 208 Derek Kellogg (7) Massachusetts 2210 328 14.8 209 Mark Montgomery (5) Northern Illinois 1444 211 14.6 210 Barry Hinson (4) Southern Illinois 906 132 14.6 211 Rodney Terry (5) Fresno St. 1462 212 14.5 212 John Cooper (7) Miami OH 1747 250 14.3 213 Mark Slessinger (4) New Orleans 951 136 14.3 214 Kermit Davis Jr (7) Middle Tennessee 2214 316 14.3 215 Jon Harris (1) SIU Edwardsville 239 34 14.2 216 Wayne Brent (3) Jackson St. 968 137 14.2 217 Mike Brennan (3) American 783 110 14.0 218 Steve Payne (5) Tennessee Tech 1299 179 13.8 219 Joe Jones (6) Boston University 1216 167 13.7 220 Jim Larranaga (7) Miami FL 1296 177 13.7 221 Frank Haith (7) Tulsa 1837 250 13.6 222 Michael Grant (2) Coppin St. 559 76 13.6 223 Mitch Henderson (5) Princeton 879 117 13.3 224 Richard Pitino (4) Minnesota 1241 164 13.2 225 Dave Leitao (1) DePaul 235 31 13.2 226 Mike Anderson (7) Arkansas 2190 286 13.1 227 Saul Phillips (7) Ohio 1670 218 13.1 228 Linc Darner (1) Green Bay 316 41 13.0 229 Bob Huggins (7) West Virginia 2252 290 12.9 230 Kevin McGeehan (3) Campbell 654 83 12.7 231 Sydney Johnson (7) Fairfield 2076 261 12.6 232 Cuonzo Martin (7) California 1995 249 12.5 233 Rick Byrd (7) Belmont 1539 192 12.5 234 Thad Matta (7) Ohio St. 1605 200 12.5 235 Dave Richman (2) North Dakota St. 499 62 12.4 236 Billy Wright (2) Western Illinois 467 58 12.4 237 Jason Hooten (6) Sam Houston St. 1760 217 12.3 238 Frank Martin (7) South Carolina 2872 353 12.3 239 Jack Perri (4) LIU Brooklyn 1140 140 12.3 240 Robert Jones (3) Norfolk St. 901 110 12.2 241 Johnny Jones (7) LSU 1771 215 12.1 242 Porter Moser (5) Loyola Chicago 1064 129 12.1 243 John Calipari (7) Kentucky 2510 304 12.1 244 Dave Rose (7) BYU 2210 263 11.9 245 Jim Ferry (7) Duquesne 1793 212 11.8 246 Lamont Smith (1) San Diego 347 41 11.8 247 Paul Lusk (5) Missouri St. 1420 167 11.8 248 Rick Barnes (7) Tennessee 2158 248 11.5 249 Scott Nagy (7) Wright St. 1510 173 11.5 250 Ed DeChellis (7) Navy 1669 191 11.4 251 Will Brown (7) Albany 1724 197 11.4 252 Leonard Hamilton (7) Florida St. 1868 213 11.4 253 Brad Underwood (3) Oklahoma St. 1211 138 11.4 254 Billy Kennedy (7) Texas A&M 1889 215 11.4 255 Kevin Ollie (4) Connecticut 1035 117 11.3 256 Dave Paulsen (7) George Mason 1390 156 11.2 257 Matt Langel (5) Colgate 992 111 11.2 258 Kim Anderson (2) Missouri 582 65 11.2 259 Brian Jones (7) North Dakota 1936 215 11.1 260 Nathan Davis (1) Bucknell 199 22 11.1 261 Rick Pitino (7) Louisville 2122 233 11.0 262 Todd Bozeman (7) Morgan St. 1733 190 11.0 263 Lon Kruger (7) Oklahoma 1726 189 11.0 264 Mike Jones (5) Radford 1429 156 10.9 265 Marty Simmons (7) Evansville 1992 216 10.8 266 Jerry Slocum (7) Youngstown St. 1773 192 10.8 267 Joe Callero (7) Cal Poly 1406 151 10.7 268 Scott Cherry (7) High Point 1428 152 10.6 269 Tad Boyle (7) Colorado 2074 219 10.6 270 Ron Cottrell (7) Houston Baptist 1983 209 10.5 271 Nicholas McDevitt (3) UNC Asheville 755 79 10.5 272 Jon Coffman (2) IPFW 411 43 10.5 273 Rick Ray (4) Southeast Missouri St. 1102 115 10.4 274 Greg McDermott (7) Creighton 1607 167 10.4 275 Jamie Dixon (7) TCU 1437 149 10.4 276 Brad Brownell (7) Clemson 1509 156 10.3 277 Will Wade (3) VCU 743 75 10.1 278 Bruce Weber (7) Kansas St. 2125 214 10.1 279 Scott Padgett (2) Samford 442 44 10.0 280 G.G. Smith (3) Loyola MD 897 89 9.9 281 Steve Pikiell (7) Rutgers 1455 143 9.8 282 Jeff Jones (7) Old Dominion 922 90 9.8 283 Bobby Collins (3) Maryland Eastern Shore 821 80 9.7 284 Larry Krystkowiak (5) Utah 1028 100 9.7 285 Ben Jacobson (7) Northern Iowa 1111 107 9.6 286 Jack Murphy (4) Northern Arizona 955 89 9.3 287 Michael Curry (2) Florida Atlantic 519 48 9.2 288 Lewis Jackson (7) Alabama St. 1689 156 9.2 289 Reggie Witherspoon (4) Canisius 1183 107 9.0 290 Greg Gard (1) Wisconsin 312 28 9.0 291 Mick Cronin (7) Cincinnati 1796 160 8.9 292 Willie Hayes (5) Alabama A&M 800 71 8.9 293 Tom Moore (7) Quinnipiac 1839 161 8.8 294 Tom Izzo (7) Michigan St. 1781 155 8.7 295 Keith Walker (2) Delaware St. 437 38 8.7 296 Dedrique Taylor (3) Cal St. Fullerton 588 51 8.7 297 Glenn Braica (6) St. Francis NY 1715 148 8.6 298 Montez Robinson (1) Alcorn St. 177 15 8.5 299 Bob McKillop (7) Davidson 2113 175 8.3 300 Bashir Mason (4) Wagner 1329 110 8.3 301 Michael White (5) Florida 1459 120 8.2 302 Chris Beard (1) Texas Tech 198 16 8.1 303 Eric Konkol (1) Louisiana Tech 243 19 7.8 304 Archie Miller (5) Dayton 1287 100 7.8 305 Tony Bennett (7) Virginia 1474 102 6.9 306 Matt Matheny (7) Elon 1867 129 6.9 307 Mark Fox (7) Georgia 1826 126 6.9 308 John Beilein (7) Michigan 1277 88 6.9 309 Jay Spoonhour (4) Eastern Illinois 803 54 6.7 310 Pat Kelsey (4) Winthrop 867 58 6.7 311 Greg Lansing (6) Indiana St. 1312 84 6.4 312 Gregg Marshall (7) Wichita St. 1844 112 6.1 313 Murray Garvin (3) South Carolina St. 645 38 5.9 314 Fran McCaffery (7) Iowa 1458 84 5.8 315 Tubby Smith (7) Memphis 1310 64 4.9 316 Joe Dooley (3) Florida Gulf Coast 983 48 4.9 317 Tony Jasick (5) Jacksonville 1615 76 4.7 318 Michael Huger (1) Bowling Green 221 8 3.6 319 Matt McCall (1) Chattanooga 191 6 3.1 320 Tic Price (2) Lamar 717 16 2.2 321 Tim Jankovich (3) SMU 798 13 1.6