Got to see Xavier Foster last night as Oskaloosa beat Pella Christian in a 2OT game. It was a fantastic high school basketball game. My nephew Levi Jungling had shots at the end of regulation and the 1st OT to win and they both just barely rimmed out. Bummer.
Anyway.. about Foster. He's a string bean. Not surprising as he is a freshman. He doesn't start for Osky. They have a very good team with impressive height and skill. When he finally did get in he caught the ball and he immediately put up a 25 footer (and missed). That became a theme. Overall he touched the ball 7-8 times and only passed once in about 6-7 minutes of play. He seemed to want to "showcase himself" every time he had the ball in his hands. His teammates were very reluctant to pass him the ball as he didn't seem to have a very good feel of what they were trying to do as a team. He went up for a dunk and came down hard on his back (fouled). That bothered him the rest of the way.
As far as his potential I can see why the interest is there. You can't teach height and he has it in spades. He's legit 6'11" with at least a 7'1" wingspan and he may still be growing. He's coordinated and pretty athletic considering his height and age. The most impressive thing to me was his stroke at the free throw line. Very good form and I think he went 3-4. Overall I get the hype but he has a long way to go. The fact that he played so little is certainly telling.
Anyway.. about Foster. He's a string bean. Not surprising as he is a freshman. He doesn't start for Osky. They have a very good team with impressive height and skill. When he finally did get in he caught the ball and he immediately put up a 25 footer (and missed). That became a theme. Overall he touched the ball 7-8 times and only passed once in about 6-7 minutes of play. He seemed to want to "showcase himself" every time he had the ball in his hands. His teammates were very reluctant to pass him the ball as he didn't seem to have a very good feel of what they were trying to do as a team. He went up for a dunk and came down hard on his back (fouled). That bothered him the rest of the way.
As far as his potential I can see why the interest is there. You can't teach height and he has it in spades. He's legit 6'11" with at least a 7'1" wingspan and he may still be growing. He's coordinated and pretty athletic considering his height and age. The most impressive thing to me was his stroke at the free throw line. Very good form and I think he went 3-4. Overall I get the hype but he has a long way to go. The fact that he played so little is certainly telling.
