In case you weren’t already aware, Luca Foster is really good at basketball.
For the few who didn’t already know about the Patriots’ forward before the Archbishop Carroll Patriots’ 89-77 season opener win over James Monroe Campus HS (NY) Saturday evening at School of the Future, they do now. At the All-City Classic Tournament game, Foster made it clear he understands what his role is about to become this season.
“I think I need to take the role of a captain this year,” said Foster. “I need to step up and take that spot. That means I need to step up a lot, though, whether it be vocally or on the court. I need to be the guy on each side of the floor, so I’ll have to lead by example for everybody.”
In the absence of two-year starter and captain Ian Williams, who is sidelined with a knee injury for the foreseeable future, Carroll is undoubtedly looking for someone to step up in the captain role. The most obvious choice for the Pats to look to is Foster.
Though Williams has been the leader of the team on and off of the court, all while standing as one of the best players on the court, it’s no argument that Foster is one of the most talented players in all the Philadelphia Catholic League, and the state for that matter.
The junior who led the team with 13.3 points per game last season holds multiple notable offers. Saint Joe’s, Temple, Penn State, Virginia Tech, Villanova, Miami, and Xavier only scratch the top of Foster’s sheet. These come while reported interest from blue bloods such as Duke stoke the fire. That list will only look to grow during his junior year, especially if the 6’5, 165 lb. big man can continue to have showings like the one he posted Saturday night.
In the Patriots’ first game without Williams, Foster showed up early and often pushed Carroll in transition, making a couple of huge buckets in the opening minute, which gave the Pats a decent lead that they’d never surrender. Carroll continued to extend their lead through the first half as Foster took on a majority of the load, scoring 17 of the Pats’ 42 first-half points.
As the contest went on, Carroll continued to grow their lead holding nearly a 30-point advantage deep into the third period. Nonetheless, the Eagles rallied and brought the margin to within ten during the waning minutes of the contest.
Monroe’s efforts proved to be too little, too late as Carroll was able to play keep away for the majority of the final minutes before dribbling it out to the tune of an 89-77 victory.
“This was what we’ve all been waiting for,” said Foster. “We’ve all been really hyped for the season so it was nice to get back out there and finally get started.”
With the win the Patriots will move to 1-0 on the young season and look ahead to next weekend as they continue their preseason trek with a game against West Chester (CA) at DeMatha Catholic (MD) for the Nike Hoopfest. It’ll be a 2:20 pm tip-off in Hyattsville next Saturday.
