If you are the R

[just another ref]

Okay, to summarize: The awareness of the 4th foul, in and of itself, is not a bad thing. As many have pointed out, the information is usually there, one way or the other, so everybody knows it. But, the only possible good that I can see is intervening if the table is late catching the 5th, and how often does this happen? It might rain, and the roof might leak, but I ain't bringing a bucket to put under it. On the other hand, if an official makes a point of noting the 4th foul, he subconsciously may give the player some slack, or, depending on the player, may have a tendency to lean the other way. (That's 5, you arrogant little turd!) Any communication of the 4th on any player from the table or between officials, in my opinion, is bound to cause people from both sides to assume the worst. (They're protecting him! They're trying to get him out!) When you bring the quality of the individual player into the equation, this is where it becomes totally unacceptable to me. Also, when we talk about stars, this sometimes dives into a murky area. The best teams, in my experience, are often the ones that do not even have a true star. Rather, they may win with balance or a different star every night. Based on some posts in this thread, I find it conceivable to take one's "college awareness game management mentality" to the game, and realize in the second half that "We've been protecting the wrong player."