Xavier Foster Committed To Iowa State

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Clonefan32

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LOL he's a convict who ruined peoples lives and he's absolutely revered by Hawkeye fans. Weird....

I mentioned this in the other thread but I had a buddy try to convince me it was a different Frank Garza. I was pretty sure it was Luka's dad, but as I read through the expansive coverage of Frank by the Iowa beat writers with no mention of the whole "stole millions of dollars" thing I second guessed myself. Crazy they don't even bother to mention it while completely revering him.
 

heitclone

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I mentioned this in the other thread but I had a buddy try to convince me it was a different Frank Garza. I was pretty sure it was Luka's dad, but as I read through the expansive coverage of Frank by the Iowa beat writers with no mention of the whole "stole millions of dollars" thing I second guessed myself. Crazy they don't even bother to mention it while completely revering him.

I've dealt with the same denial from a few of them as well. The guy who got arrested also played bball at Idaho, like Luka's dad. It'd be odd if Idaho had two guys named Frank Garza Jr that played bball at the same time but they live in a different reality.
 

Kurttr

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I didn't watch this latest game that was posted but have watched a few of his games - avail. on the Osky site - XF is very athletic and very talented. I agree that his motor doesn't look extremely high, but it's hard to judge what that ultimately will mean, as in IA HS ball, he's not being challenged by other top, big prospects, and, he's not going to be a ballhandler, so has to depend on their guards quite a bit, just like any other big man. I'm not suggesting that "motor" isn't a concern to keep in mind, but I really like the upside and definitely expect he'll be getting time next year.
 

Cyinthenorth

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I've watched him play several time over the past few years. He's going to he better than Conditt's freshman year, but not a super star. He just doesn't get too worked up over high school games; especially this year because his team isn't great.

This is what concerns me. What if he's playing on an ISU team that is 11-15 a year from now? I don't think I can place any expectations on him, because there simply isn't enough evidence to deduce what kind of D1 collegiate player he will be. Sky is the limit. I think the popular belief, or hope maybe, is that he is All-Big 12 Caliber player down the road, possibly All-American, possibly Lottery pick.

More realistically, I could see him being a two and done who shows flashes here and there while at ISU, but never really comes in to his own. He declares after an up and down Soph. season and gets drafted mid-late 2nd round. The Lindell Wigginton path if you will.

That isn't to say I'm unhappy we landed him. I am excited to see what he could possibly do at ISU and will have fun watching it all unfold regardless.
 

adjl

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This is what concerns me. What if he's playing on an ISU team that is 11-15 a year from now? I don't think I can place any expectations on him, because there simply isn't enough evidence to deduce what kind of D1 collegiate player he will be. Sky is the limit. I think the popular belief, or hope maybe, is that he is All-Big 12 Caliber player down the road, possibly All-American, possibly Lottery pick.

More realistically, I could see him being a two and done who shows flashes here and there while at ISU, but never really comes in to his own. He declares after an up and down Soph. season and gets drafted mid-late 2nd round. The Lindell Wigginton path if you will.

That isn't to say I'm unhappy we landed him. I am excited to see what he could possibly do at ISU and will have fun watching it all unfold regardless.
I agree. I think CSP will be good for him though. He doesn't seem to have that killer instinct like some other great players do, but I have seen him turn it on and he can be absolutely amazing. He's got so much talent. I'm excited to see what he can do.
 

GrindingAway

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This is what concerns me. What if he's playing on an ISU team that is 11-15 a year from now? I don't think I can place any expectations on him, because there simply isn't enough evidence to deduce what kind of D1 collegiate player he will be. Sky is the limit. I think the popular belief, or hope maybe, is that he is All-Big 12 Caliber player down the road, possibly All-American, possibly Lottery pick.

More realistically, I could see him being a two and done who shows flashes here and there while at ISU, but never really comes in to his own. He declares after an up and down Soph. season and gets drafted mid-late 2nd round. The Lindell Wigginton path if you will.

That isn't to say I'm unhappy we landed him. I am excited to see what he could possibly do at ISU and will have fun watching it all unfold regardless.

I really don't think it has anything to do with how good his team is. I watched him play at the Fab 48 in front of 20+ D1 coaches and it was pretty similar to the Grinnell game. Spurts of dominance with periods of lulls. I'm not trying to say that as a negative. I think he's going to be a solid and potentially great player, but that is where he is in his development. Getting him on campus will help a lot in that regard imo.
 

Cyclonepride

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I really don't think it has anything to do with how good his team is. I watched him play at the Fab 48 in front of 20+ D1 coaches and it was pretty similar to the Grinnell game. Spurts of dominance with periods of lulls. I'm not trying to say that as a negative. I think he's going to be a solid and potentially great player, but that is where he is in his development. Getting him on campus will help a lot in that regard imo.

I think it's also much easier to get lost in the flow of the game when you're not a player that is "on the ball" a lot. If the guards aren't throwing it to you, or even if the guards present no threat so the other team can sag like crazy, then it's pretty hard to dominate.
 
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Clonefan32

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To me the Foster debate is simple. Is his lack of effort at times due to him playing on a bad team against bad competition, or is it indicative of a kid that just doesn't have a very high motor when it comes to basketball? I think we all hope it's the former and CSP can get a fire lit under him.
 

Gunnerclone

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To me the Foster debate is simple. Is his lack of effort at times due to him playing on a bad team against bad competition, or is it indicative of a kid that just doesn't have a very high motor when it comes to basketball? I think we all hope it's the former and CSP can get a fire lit under him.

I Don’t fault the kid for checking out. I was long done with HS at this point in my senior year. Just doing the bare minimum to get to the end. Being on a not good team would be the nail in that coffin. Having to ride in that ******* school bus 50 miles to crappy gyms for away games in an Iowa winter has to suck.
 

GrindingAway

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I think it's also much easier to get lost in the flow of the game when you're not a player that is "on the ball" a lot. If the guards aren't throwing it to you, or even if the guards present no threat so the other team can sag like crazy, then it's pretty hard to dominate.

The team me played on in the Fab 48 ran a lot of offense through him and had enough strong guard play there wasn't sagging.
 

heitclone

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To me the Foster debate is simple. Is his lack of effort at times due to him playing on a bad team against bad competition, or is it indicative of a kid that just doesn't have a very high motor when it comes to basketball? I think we all hope it's the former and CSP can get a fire lit under him.

His tape this year doesn't seem much different from the last few years when he played on one of the best 3A teams in the state. I don't think its about winning, I just think HS ball is a step on his way to his ultimate goal, the NBA. I'm excited about him coming here, my concern would be that he treats ISU the same way he treats HS ball. Just a vehicle to get him where he wants to go, that's essentially why he said he wanted to come here.

Regardless of what he does here, I don't think he'll be at ISU for more than 2 years. If at that point he's not already a lock to get drafted (but is a solid player), he's much better off going the G league route and working to prove he can play against professionals. I think we'll see more and more kids take this option, it just makes more sense if your goal is the NBA.