Foster Picked Rice Over Iowa, Others
Back in May, Rice landed their first commitment from the Class of 2004 in
Rodney Foster, a smart 6-foot-2, 175 pound point guard from Mayde Creek High
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School in Katy, Tex. We recently caught up with the young student-athlete and
his high school coach to talk about his early decision to stay home in the Lone
Star State.
Foster selected Rice by basing his decision on a few select factors.
"The main reasons were that the academics and the athletics were pretty
strong," said Foster. "I really connected with the coaches too. They said I
would play a lot my freshman year, and that my style of game fits the way that
they play."
In addition, the fact that the Rice campus was just miles away from his house
in certainly made an impact.
"Rodney liked the chance to play close to home," said Mayde Creek head coach
Ojay Heil. "The fit was there."
Foster committed pretty early in the process, choosing Rice over some
high-major programs such as Iowa (who had offered), Minnesota, and Kansas
State, in addition to others such as Tulsa, Colorado State, and Lamar. While
he could have waited things out through the summer, when Rice offered, he
snatched it right up.
"I wanted to jump on the decision quick," said Foster. "A lot of juniors were
committing, so I didn't want the opportunity to slip by. And it was the best
opportunity out there."
And after taking care of the commitment, he was able to relax and play the
entire AAU tournament schedule with the Houston Hoops with no worries.
"It was a fun summer," said Foster. "I could just go out there and play and
have fun."
Foster is an all-around point guard who excels in many different areas. He
shoots the ball well, plays good defense, and is a heady floor leader.
"He's a smart player who makes everyone around him look really good," said
Heil. "He can take control of the game."
Foster also has an edge to his game as well - something that will serve him
well as an Owl.
"Rodney's really a competitor," said Heil. "No matter where he is he'll be
fighting for a starting job. He's got the strong will to do really well."
With the Hoops this summer, Foster played in essentially every top event in the
country and matched up against some of the top point guards in the land.
Foster named A.J. Price and Shaun Livingston as the two toughest players he
matched up against. He had high praise for Livingston.
"He's tough," said Foster. "He can handle the ball like he's six feet tall.
And he's good at finding his teammates too."
The Owls are currently also recruiting Foster's Mayde Creek teammate, Matt
Wheaton. Foster has been unofficially trying to recruit his buddy to Rice as
well.
"I talk to him everyday about it," said Foster. "I tell him we still have four
more years left to play together. But he needs to do whatever's best for him."
A brilliant student, Foster maintains a 4.2 GPA (on a 4.0 scale) and ranks #30
in his class of 669. He scored a 1040 on the SAT and plans to major in
computer engineering at Rice.
Jed Tai is a senior writer with Hoopville.com