He’s averaging over 20 points a game, is among the top five in both three-point field goal percentage and three-pointers made and also checks in just outside the top 10 in field goal percentage all while carrying Creighton’s hopes on his broad shoulders.
So what is the secret to Marcus Foster’s success this year? Take a guess. Take 10 guesses. Actually, you could sit there in your Bluejays gear and scratch your head with a big blue foam finger as you ponder the question and you still won’t come up with it.
Here’s a hint: it has something to do with his five-month old daughter, Jazmine.
“Funny story,” Foster said. “Earlier in the season, right before I left for a game, she had a big poopy diaper that I had to change and that night I went out and scored 30 points.”
The University of Texas-Arlington was the unlucky team on the night in question when Foster lit up the Mavericks for a season-high 32 points. He has had 17 other games this season in which he has scored 20 or more points, which means there’s a whole lot of diaper changing going on at Casa Foster.
“I’m really good at it now,” Foster said laughing. “I can do it in world-record time.”
OK, there are other reasons why Foster’s very good 2016-17 season, in which he averaged 18.2 points a game, has improved across the board this season. And it all began last summer, just before Jazmine became the newest member of Bluejays Nation.
“This season I had a chance to come back and finish my senior year so in the off-season I really dedicated myself,” Foster said. “I got with my trainer, Marcus Walker, in Kansas City and put in many hours in the gym and also here at Creighton in summer workouts. I put many hours in and that’s what it’s all about. I just want to have a big year and it all started in the off-season for me.”
Foster is averaging 20.3 points a game, good for fourth in the BIG EAST, and has improved his numbers in every critical category, including field goal percentage (46.1 last year, 51.1 this season), free throw percentage (70.1 last year, 79.0 this year) and three-point percentage (34.1 last year, 45.0 this season). Foster is also only 152 points short of surpassing his total of 638 points scored last season which set a Creighton mark for a newcomer in a season.
Oh, and did I mention he has also just reached the 2,000-point plateau in his career? It came on a game-winning, 3-pointer in the Bluejays one-point road win at DePaul this past Wednesday.
“That means so much to me,” Foster said. “Ever since I was little, I was always trying to score and be the best scorer. So for me to dream of playing college basketball and then being on this stage and getting 2,000 points and to get it on a game-winner and get a big win for us, it was an even better moment.”
Foster’s life, both on and off the court, now seems a million miles away from his bumpy ride at Kansas State, where he was dismissed from the Wildcats program by head coach Bruce Weber following his sophomore season. It was then he decided to transfer to Creighton and he has never looked back.
“Coming out of high school, Creighton had recruited me since my sophomore year and they were in my final two (choices) with Kansas State,” Foster said. “It was a tough decision the first time but I’m happy I made a second decision to come here. When I got here to Creighton, I just decided if I was going to play this game, I was going to do it the right way this time. So I just got back to the basics which was working hard and dedicating myself every day and it’s been paying off for me. Plus the culture here is very different. You can just feel it when you walk in the practice gym. Guys here are really dedicated, not just at basketball but in school and life. We really pride ourselves at being good academic students but we also pride ourselves by working hard on the practice court.”
Though he is flourishing this season, it has been one that has come with some big adjustments as Foster not only juggles practices and games, but school work and fatherhood. And it was a tricky proposition in the beginning.
“When Chelsea first moved down here when the baby was born it was hard for me to juggle school and basketball and being a father,” Foster said. “With basketball I wanted to put extra time in but I also wanted to see my daughter. And with school you also have homework but I just wanted to sit around and hold her and play with her all day. So it was hard at first. But now I find many ways to juggle things and have success at it. The coaching staff here helps me so much, too. But it’s just so different now. Before games I used to come home and blast music but now I just sit here quietly holding her.”
The rest of the BIG EAST wishes Foster would be quiet when facing him on game nights. But with a conference title up for grabs, there’s no chance of that happening.
“It’s definitely way more wide open this year,” Foster said. “You never know what could happen on any night. The other night St. John’s beat Villanova then Marquette turns around and beats Seton Hall then DePaul takes us to the end. That’s what it’s about. That’s the thing I like about this conference, there are no off nights and you got to bring your game. So whoever is standing at the end in the conference is truly the best team in the BIG EAST because there are just so many good teams.”
With four wins already this season against ranked teams, Foster and the Bluejays have a chance on Saturday to add another one to their ledger when they host No. 5 Xavier (FOX, 2:30 p.m. EST).
Time for Marcus - and Jazmine - to load up for the Musketeers.
“After last time, not putting up a good fight against them (in a 92-70 loss on Jan. 13), we’re all motivated and determined to give them our best shot,” Foster said. “With them being such a great team we’re really going to have to be at our best. But I’m looking forward to competing against those guys. I always like playing against Xavier just because they have really good players and Chris Mack is a very great coach. I’m looking forward to going up against them on Saturday.”