Gophers Land Second 2013 Commitment From Chicago
From Illinois Prep Bulls-Eye:
http://ilprepbullseye.com/Foster_Minnesota.html
University Of Minnesota Does It Again! Gophers Land Second 2013 Commitment From Chicago
By Roy & Harv Schmidt
October 13, 2012
4:45 P.M. CST
What a job University Of Minnesota head coach Tubby Smith and his staff have done over the course of the past year when it comes to recruiting Chicago. During that time, Smith and assistant coach Vince Taylor targeted 2013 recruits from the Windy City who they thought were attainable and would be fits as Gophers.
There is no question that their efforts have paid off in a big way. That is because Minnesota landed its second commitment in the 2013 class from a Chicago area recruit today when Smith received a verbal from 6'7 wing forward Alex Foster from Seton Academy in South Holland, IL. Foster ended up choosing the Gophers over offers from Auburn and Tennessee.
Foster took an official visit to Minneapolis the weekend of September 22-23, the same time as the Gophers' other 2013 commit--6'5 wing forward Alvin Ellis from De La Salle Institute in Chicago. While Ellis committed on the spot, Foster decided to wait. He had previously scheduled officials to Auburn the weekend of October 26-28 and to Tennessee the first weekend in November. Needless to say those have now been cancelled.
When one stops to think about it, it makes perfect sense that Foster and Ellis will be teaming up together at Minnesota. After all, for the past three years they had been teammates at De La Salle. Thus they are good friends and quite familiar with one another's game. Foster decided to transfer to Seton Academy at the beginning of the summer.
Foster has long had one of the biggest reputations amongst any player in Illinois from the 2013 class. In fact, when he was still in eighth grade he was dubbed by others as one of the "Big Three" in that class from the Land Of Lincoln along with Jabari Parker and Tommy Hamilton. He has been up and down ever since then, but there is no question that he still sports as much up side as any player in the state with the exception of Parker.
Foster is just starting to realize that he can do his greatest damage in the paint area in addition to being able to utilize his outstanding athleticism which enables him to run the floor and consistently finish on the break. He can also face up and knock down shots from behind the 3-point arc although he sometimes tends to rely too heavily on that part of his game.
When looking at statistics, Foster has undoubtedly proven that he is a player who is capable of putting up double-doubles in scoring and rebounds on a regular basis. He now appears to be as motivated as he ever has been to live up to the extreme hype that was thrust upon him at such an early age. As long as he plays hard and with intensity at all times, we believe that the sky can be the limit. With that being said, we look for him to have a big year at Seton Academy, who will be undoubtedly be one of the favorites to win the Class 2A state championship come next March.
As was the case with Ellis, kudos once again go out to Taylor, who was the lead recruiter on Foster. As we alluded to previously, Taylor has tracked Foster virtually non-stop over the course of the past year. And here is the thing--the Gophers may not be done yet, as they are also very much in the picture with yet another 2013 prospect who previously played at De La Salle--6'9 power forward Gavin Schilling who is now at Findlay Prep in Henderson, NV. However, as of now all indications are that Schilling will wait until the spring to sign a letter of intent.
Regardless, the Chicago angle with him and Ellis cannot hurt. These high major kids all run in same circles and talk a lot.. it cannot do anything but help if we are making in roads into Chicago. That is a great market to target.. at some point, if we keep working it and the team does well, we will get a shot at a top Chicago recruit..which would mean a top recruit period. For now, I will take Ellis, Foster and Shilling/Hayes. Thyat would make a very nice class IMO. Especially with 2014 on horizon. I also feel we will land Vauhgn so things might not be as dire as folks seem to think..
