Five Good Minutes with Shan Foster

(Foster, #33, going hard to the hoop)

The amiable small forward took some time after this morning’s practice to sit down and discuss the Trials, Vandy basketball and his former POY teammate Derrick Byars.

While he hasn’t attained masterlock status like PG Drew Neitzel and C Roy Hibbert, Foster is a real possibility to play the three. Oregon SG/SF Bryce Taylor, NC State SF Brandon Costner and LSU SF Tasmin Mitchell are competing with him for the committee’s love.

“I just think I gotta keep doing what I’m doing, you know. Just making sure that I’m shooting the ball – and probably taking care of the ball a little bit more,” said Foster about his chances. “But really it’s about shooting the ball and continuing to show that I can shoot it while also playing good defense.”

Shooting is one thing Foster has done plenty of in two and a half days. His trigger-happy mentality is indigenous to VU Commodore basketball. 2006-2007 SEC Player of the Year and teammate Derrick Byars combined with Foster to attempt almost 900 field goals last year. That’s almost 26 field goals per game just from this pair who both qualify as guard/forward hybrids. “We pretty much play the same position, me and Derrick,” said Shan (pronounced Shane). “Derrick is probably more versatile than I am in that he can play the 1 through 4. But for the most part we both go out there on the wing and do the best we can.”

After drilling a three from the wing, Foster came back on the next possession to the same area of the floor with time running low. As the clock ticked down under ten seconds, he elevated higher than the two defenders in his face to sink a buzzer-beating 3. “I was just trying to get an angle to get my shot off,” Foster noted. He matter-of-factly added, “if I get it off, I have a shot at making it.” It was the shot of the day.

Beyond that highlight fadeaway three, his jumper has stood out from the rest of the field since arriving for both its success rate and its appearance. When shooting, Foster springs off the floor and cocks his wrist back, letting the ball float out of his hand high into the air. He attributes the rain-making, slightly awkward high arch to his basketball upbringing. “I played center all the way up until I got to Vanderbilt. When I got to Vandy it was my first time really playing guard. I had a lot to learn – still working on ball handling, things of that sort, trying to do the best I can and really be a guard.”

Foster has one more opportunity to prove his full array of skills when the Trials resume at 5 PM, and maybe only one more chance to play with so many other talented guys. When asked who he’d like to transport with him back to Vandy, Foster mentioned Neitzel, PG Mario Chalmers and PF D.J. White. “D.J. White! Wooo – if I could play with D.J. life would be wonderful.”

(Foster after last night's practice sporting the ice bags on both knees)

Great Expectations

If the now thirty-two hoopsters who will be at tonight’s Pan-Am Trials (5 PM – 7 PM) were all in action on a given night during the ’06-’07 season, you could expect them to combine for over 438 points, 168 rebounds, over 77 assists and a collective shooting percentage of just over 48%. (Two additional point guards, PG Sean Singletary of UVA and PG Dominic James of Marquette are joining the party.) Tennessee Vol’ SG Chris Lofton is the only attendee to contribute more than 20 points per game over the course of the season. Washington PF Jon Brockman is the top rebounder, cleaning the glass at 9.6 boards per game. KU PG Mario Chalmers and Marquette SG Jerel McNeal share the honor as the top thieves, nabbing the rock from the opposition 2.6 times a game. As impressive as these numbers are, none of these four make the cut as being the most statistically significant player at their position among the Pan-Am’sters. Here are five can't-miss prospects based on their performance last year.

Starting from the point, it’s hard to bypass Michigan State’s PG Drew Neitzel’s numbers, and maybe even tougher to overlook his intangibles. Despite losing three key contributors from the ’05-’06 campaign to ’06-’07, Neitzel’s numbers barely wavered. The graduation or departure of C Paul Davis’s 17.5 points per game on 57% shooting, SG Maurice Ager’s 19.3 ppg at 46% and G/F Shannon Brown’s 17.2 ppg at 46% from the field left Neitzel with few options when looking to dish. While his assists dropped from 5.7 per game to 4.3, he shouldered the offensive burden as a scorer. From his 8.5 points per game in ’05-’06 on 41% shooting, Neitzel managed to tack 10 more points onto that average (18.1) while also improving his accuracy to 43%. The southpaw even led his team further into the ‘tourney during his junior season than they had gone the year before with a substantially more talented team. The Spartans fell victim to George Mason’s Cinderella story in the first round of the ’06 tournament. In ’07, they beat Marquette before C Tyler Hansbrough (33 points, 9 rebs) and UNC ran roughshod through them 81-67. Neitzel still put together a gritty performance, dropping 26 points and dishing out 5 assists despite being defended by the ultra-tough PG Ty Lawson.

The shooting guard is by far the most stacked position at the Trials. Ten guys are competing to play the two in Rio. Aggie SG Josh Carter might not be one of the biggest names, but he is a lethal, opportunistic shooter. At 6’7’’ 195 lbs., Carter never struggles to get his jumper off. Playing alongside PG Acie Law IV, Carter’s role as a spot-up shooter led him to 11.8 points per game on a ridiculous 49.2% from the field, and a flat 50% from three. As an oversized guard, he creates mismatches defensively, and takes advantage of his height, grabbing four boards a game. On a squad where shots will be tough to come by, Carter’s accuracy is invaluable.

While it is tempting to select a small forward who stands out defensively, such as SF James Gist, (.9 steals per game, 2.1 blocks per game) NC State’s SF Brandon Costner is too versatile to pass up. At 16.3 points per game and 7.3 rebounds, this 6’8’’ 230 lbs. lefty is quick enough to rove the baseline and strong enough to bang bodies in the paint. He’s no defensive slouch, averaging almost a steal and a block per game. Most importantly, BC loves the limelight. He scored 20 on 3-of-6 shooting from downtown against Maryland, lit the Dukies up at Cameron Indoor for 30 and 7 boards, and went toe-to-toe with Tar Heel PF Brandan Wright, going off for 28 and 3 rebounds.

’Bama’s PF Richard Hendrix could earn the label as “statistically significant” simply from his stature. He rings in at 6’8’’ 265 lbs., second in size only to C Roy Hibbert’s 7’2’’ 278 lbs. Hendrix uses his size on the offensive end, but seems to have incredibly quick feet when playing D. In only 27.6 minutes of action per game, Hendrix was a virtual 15-10 guy at 14.6 ppg, 8.7 rpg. Against the Gators C Joakim Noah and PF Al Horford, he shot 7-for-13 for 16 points along with eight boards – four of which were offensive. On the season, Hendrix made the most of his opportunities, converting baskets at a 60.2% rate.

Finally, C Roy Hibbert, the biggest man in the group, is also the choice-cut of the centers. Even though Memphis’s PF/C Joey Dorsey is arguably the most talented defender at the Trials, (1.4 steals per game, 2.2 blocks per game) Hibbert’s 67.1% field goal percentage is unmatched. He has great hands, which are more like paws when opponents attempt shots in the paint. Hibbert’s 2.4 blocks per game is also the top mark at the Trials. He is not as ferocious a rebounder as some of the other big men, largely because he lacks the foot speed to get into great position. However, his size and strength make him a virtually automatic basket when opponents allow him to set up shop deep on the block.

Regardless of position, two other names need mentioning. SG Bryce Taylor, Oregon’s shooting guard, continues to satisfy my desire for efficiency. He leads all guards with an average of 51.7% shooting from the field. Additionally, the VCU PG Eric Maynor is the Trials' top assist-man, coming off of a 6.4 assists per game season. Maynor, you may remember, is the singular reason that the Rams made the NCAA Tournament. In the CAA Championship game against George Mason, Maynor could have made John Elways jealous with his two-minute drill. Down five with exactly two minutes to play (57-52), Maynor stole a pass, hit a lay-up and converted the free throw for a three point-play (57-55). He then picked the pocket of the GMU point guard and scored again (57-57). Maynor then grabbed a rebound off of a missed three-pointer. With under a minute to play, he drove the lane and hit a crazy leaner to put VCU up two (59-57). To seal the victory, the little-man grabbed another board, was intentionally fouled, and then knocked down both free throws. Check it out. But that wasn’t it. In the next game, the 6-11 matchup between VCU and the vaunted Blue Devils, Maynor did it again, hitting a “dagger” with under two-seconds left for the 79-77 win.

T-minus five hours for the Pan-Am Trials to begin. We can forget the stats from here on out save for one important number. Less than 40% of this incredibly talented group will continue to play past Saturday’s final cut.

For another look at who will be in attendance, here’s the list of all 32 names:

Jon Brockman (Washington / Snohomish, Wash.); Brian Butch (Wisconsin / Appleton, Wis.); Josh Carter (Texas A&M / Dallas, Texas); Mario Chalmers (Kansas / Anchorage, Alaska); Sherron Collins (Kansas / Chicago, Ill.); Brandan Costner (North Carolina State / West Orange, N.J.); Eric Devendorf (Syracuse / Bay City, Mich.); Joey Dorsey (Memphis / Baltimore, Md.); Wayne Ellington (North Carolina / Wynnewood, Pa.); Randal Falker (Southern Illinois / St. Louis, Mo.); Shan Foster (Vanderbilt / Kenner, La.); Alonzo Gee (Alabama / Palm Beach, Fla.); James Gist (Maryland / Silver Spring, Md.); Richard Hendrix (Alabama / Athens, Ala.); Roy Hibbert (Georgetown / Adelphi, Md.); Dominic James (Marquette / Richmond, Ind.); Maarty Leunen (Oregon / Redmond, Ore.); Chris Lofton (Tennessee / Maysville, Ky.); Derrick Low (Washington State / Honolulu, Hawaii); Wesley Matthews (Marquette / Madison, Wis.); Eric Maynor (Virginia Commonwealth / Fayetteville, N.C.); Jerel McNeal (Marquette / Chicago, Ill.); Tasmin Mitchell (LSU / Denham Springs, La.); Drew Neitzel (Michigan State / Grand Rapids, Mich.); DeMarcus Nelson (Duke / Elk Grove, Calif.); Ahmad Nivins (Saint Joseph’s / Jersey City, N.J.); Scottie Reynolds (Villanova / Herndon, Va.); Jon Scheyer (Duke / Northbrook, Ill.); Sean Singletary (Virginia / Philadelphia, Pa.); Bryce Taylor (Oregon / Encino, Calif.); Kyle Weaver (Washington State / Beloit, Wis.); D.J. White (Indiana / Tuscaloosa, Ala.)

The Small Forwards Are Coming

To fully appreciate our freedom in this great country, many of us will spend our July 4^th chowing down with friends and family, ogling a great display of fireworks and then reliving the real fight for independence at the theaters with the Michael Bay/Steven Spielberg instant classic, Transformers. Like many of its predecessors, this story of robot/human cooperation is about more than freedom and justifying immigration policy. Even if it’s not against giant metal shape-shifters who double as Walther P38’s, when the U.S. goes into proverbial battle against the Pan-American competition, they will need to take cue from the heroes of this July 4^th film: work together, win together.

(Tyrese Gibson, center, needs some help from his friends)

However, this motto of cooperation does not transcend the entirety of the basketball universe. The professional game has changed so drastically over the last ten years that it has left the NBA in jeopardy. These changes are embodied in the transformation of the roles of positions in the pro's, namely the small forwards. Formerly the defensive stoppers and transition scorers, small forwards served as the off-ball cog needed to complement more mechanically skilled passers, shooters and big men. Scottie Pippen was the prototypical NBA small forward, named to the NBA All-Defensive Team 10 times, and maybe best known as an opportunistic scorer, taking advantage of defenses who over-committed to His Airness.

Pippen’s focus was not on putting the ball in the basket, even if he averaged over 19 points per game on greater than 48% FG shooting in seasons that he was a starter with the Bulls. Today’s small forwards approach the game from the flip side, handling the ball and the offensive load as much as possible. Even though many of these scorers found statistical success during the regular season, they were largely MIA during the playoffs. The leading NBA small forward, LeBron James, led his Cavaliers to an astoundingly low average of 80.5 points per game over the four-game sweep by the Spurs during this year’s Finals. (80 points a game means 20 points a quarter, which is less than one basket a minute with the NBA’s 12-minute quarters.) These scoring woes exemplify the league’s problem: small-forwards are trying to take over NBA offenses. Writer Jack McCallum echoed this sentiment, reporting in last month’s Sports Illustrated that some coaches wanted to make LeBron the first cut on the 2006 Olympic team for his “inability to function in an offense without the ball.”

(Some would argue LeBron James, above, spends too much time as a ball handler.)

(Scottie Pippen, a true small forward, demonstrated his versatility on both sides of the ball.)

While small forwards comprised the largest portion of the players selected in last Thursday's NBA draft (15), a sign that the league remains off-track, there are only five players listed at that position who will be in attendance at that Pan-Am Trials. SF Tasmin Mitchell, SF Maarty Leunen, SF Alonzo Gee, SF Brandon Costner and SF James Gist all seem to uphold the standards of a small forward, playing off the ball and scoring their points via an amalgam of jumpers, transition baskets and tough hoops in the lane. Even if these five have spent their college careers as versatile off-ball contributors, expect Coach Jay Wright to drive home a team-oriented philosophy in which no one brings the ball up the floor aside from the potential PG crew of Mario Chalmers, Sherron Collins, Eric Maynor, Drew Neitzel, Scottie Reynolds, Kyle Weaver and maybe Eric Devendorf. “The United States hasn’t won a gold medal in the Pan American Games in a long time," said Wright. "We have got a lot of work to do. I rely on the committee to pick the team. Once they pick the team, we will try to figure out the best way for that group to play and hopefully be able to compete for a gold medal.” Wright’s equal valuing of all positions will create the balance needed to win. “I hope when we put the team together we have a mixture of an inside game, great shooters, and also some slashers,” added Wright.

It seems that these apocalyptic Independence Day movies carry with them important lessons about freedom, aliens and of course, sports. Independence Day taught us that, in addition to destroying a technologically superior army with computer viruses uploaded from a 1996 IBM laptop, our greatest asset is our ability to cooperate. Everyone sacrifices for the good of the human race - even the President jumps into the cockpit of a fighter plane.

Honk Once for Big Men, Honk Twice for Swingmen

With the NBA Draft looming less than two weeks away, the pressure is on virtually every NBA GM to do the most with their selection. Portland GM Kevin Pritchard is in the unique position of deciding what to do with the first choice. The argument amounts to a discussion of college basketball’s two most dynamic underage all-stars. C Greg Oden, (Ohio State) 19, and SF Kevin Durant, (Texas) 18, are the two possibilities when the Trailblazers select first on June 28^th. While the Blazers try to address this dilemma with algorithms and computations that could make Bruce Partridge’s head spin, and a series of extensive interviews with these two incredibly talented All-Americans, their decision boils down to whether they want to build their franchise around a post-player or a swingman.

Just as Pritchard must make this decision about the focus of his team, the USA Basketball selection committee, headed by Hall of Fame Syracuse coach, Jim Boeheim shoulders the tough task of evaluating talent and prioritizing the positions best suited for a gold medal run through the Pan-American Games. While Boeheim and his staff will select an entire team as opposed to a single player, each addition to the roster will address the same question that Pritchard is facing. Will we find success with big-bodied post-play, or will a guard-based, face-the-basket approach put more points on the board?

In the post-Jordan era, many teams find it difficult to pass on scorers who do their damage from the perimeter. Psychology professionals might term this “Bowieism,” as it was Portland’s choice back in 1984 to pass on MJ with the second pick in favor of the 7’1’’ Kentucky Wildcat, Sam Bowie. Bowie spent eleven injury-riddled years in the NBA, bouncing around the league. In 2007, Greg Oden looks much more like the first big man drafted in ’84, Akeem Olajuwon, than the one who followed.

(Bowie wears 54 for Kentucky, as he defends Houston's #45 Akeem Olajuwon. They were picks 1 and 2 during the stacked 1984 draft, which also included Jordan, John Stockton, Charles Barkley and Sam Perkins.)

Just as we expect Kevin Pritchard to make the sensible decision and go with Oden for the first pick, Jim Boeheim & co. will likely follow suit two weeks after the Draft in putting the burden of USA Basketball on the broad shoulders of the big men. While the U.S. boasts dead-eye shooters like Tennessee SG Chris Lofton, 20.8 ppg, 47.9% from the field and 42% from downtown in ’07, and UNC Tar Heel slasher SF Wayne Ellington, their games largely depend on a frontcourt presence. Roy Williams' system in Chapel Hill relies on filtering the ball through C Tyler Hansbrough's hands. His aggressiveness opens up passing lanes for Ellington, who scores the majority of his points on mid-range jumpers or open three's after good ball movement. If the ball did not enter the post, defenders would not be forced to collapse toward the middle, and there would be little room for shooters to find their shot. Ellington can look back to the Georgetown/UNC battle on March 25th, when the Hoyas' frontcourt of PF Jeff Green and C Roy Hibbert "started" the offense, demanding the attention of double-teams and finding the open man. The result, a GTown win 96-84 and five Hoyas in double-figures.

Even though Green is opting for MSG on the 28th instead of the GIAC on the 12th, NC State PF Brandon Costner can fill that role as the smaller, yet equally dangerous post partner. With his smooth south-paw style, Costner is most comfortable with his back to the basket, scoring frequently on a sweet left-handed baby hook. He also can face the basket and even finish with his off-hand. At 6'8'' 230, he will complement Hibbert the way Green, 6'9'' 235 did during the season.

Even if BC's jumper isn't what Green's is, his aggressive style of play will alleviate some of the pressure off of Hibbert, who isn't quite used to being the go-to-guy. Costner comes from a system in which head coach Sidney Lowe (pictured below) made his post-game the priority. Finding the seam in a zone and being able to spot the open man will suit Costner well during the Pan-Am games, where international competition will likely try to limit the U.S.’s athleticism with a healthy helping of zone defense.

If Boeheim had the opportunity, he would undoubtedly save a spot for both Oden and Durant. However, if he were in Kevin Pritchard’s position and could only select one for his team, know that he'd support the big-man philosophy and let the 7-footer roam the center of Jay Wright's defense.