The portal is finally flowing back the other way.
First, the news:
NEWS: Furman transfer guard Marcus Foster has committed to Xavier, he tells @On3sports.
The 6-4 senior says he chose the Musketeers over Indiana and Cal. Averaged 17 points and 7.5 rebounds per game this season.
Story: https://t.co/jkhnoeYUxq pic.twitter.com/fqkTZSGxdf
— Joe Tipton (@TiptonEdits) March 27, 2024
After clearing a handful of roster spots with outflow in the portal, Xavier has landed its first incoming playing in the form of former Furman guard Marcus Foster. Foster is a solid 6’4″, 200 pounds and joins Xavier with a single year of eligibility remaining.
On the surface, he appears to have the same limitation that held back Xavier’s offense last season, as he shot just .425/.297/.813 on the year at Furman. A closer look at his situation leaves some room for optimism. First of all – and with the obvious caveat that injuries are not by and large positive developmental indicators – he did battle through a knee injury last season that cost him nine games and likely hampered him in many others.
The other is his expanding role in the team. As a sophomore and junior, he was a secondary player on really good teams. His usage rate in those two seasons was 19% and 16.5% respectively, and he posted ORtgs of 112.9 and 111.5 in those years. In those two years, he was 88-242 (36.4%) from deep.
Last season, his usage rate was 25.6% and his shots percentage was 27.6%. He stepped up to be the focal point of the offense, and his shooting suffered due to having to force his way into games a bit more. The fact that he still shot over 80% from the line shows he didn’t forget how to shoot, just that he was taking worse shots.
Stylistically, Foster is a shooter first and foremost, with just a tick over half his career attempts coming from behind the arc. If he does go inside the arc, he’s relentless slasher who rarely pulls up; only about 12% of his career attempts are from the mid-range.
Last season, Sean Miller cited the ability to get to the line as something the staff targets in transfers, and Foster certainly has that. He finished top 20 in the SoCon in FT rate three times and top 10 twice. He’s a career 79% shooter from the stripe, so he cashes out at a high rate. It’s hard to say too much about his defense without watching film on him, but, like Quincy Olivari, he’s an excellent defensive rebounder.
Like Bill Self, I’ve been thinking about next year every day for a month now. Foster is the first of the pieces to fall into place.