A Duke basketball freshman made his introduction to the country on a national stage.
Most devoted college basketball fans know who the great freshmen are as soon as they step on campus, especially when they suit up for the Duke basketball program, but the rest of the country really doesn’t know who these players are until they step on the court and perform.
Well, the world officially knows who Caleb Foster is.
The 5-star recruit for the Blue Devils, who was snubbed from the McDonald’s All-American Game, was the catalyst for Duke in its 74-65 victory over Michigan State in the Champions Classic.
Foster finished with 18 points, 16 of which came in the second half, on 7-of-8 shooting and continuously delivered in the clutch when the Blue Devils offense was getting stagnant.
The North Carolina native’s first points of the second half came on a 3-pointer, which pushed the Duke lead back to seven points, after a quick Michigan State run trimmed the advantage to just four.
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Another 3-pointer two minutes later would match Duke’s 11-point halftime lead, 44-33, and it began a stretch of five straight points scored by the rookie.
The heroics were not done yet for Foster as he would deliver back-to-back 3-pointers in the final three minutes to put the game away and give the Blue Devils its largest lead of the game, 68-56.
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After scoring 15 points in Duke’s season opener against Dartmouth, Caleb Foster was held scoreless in just 13 minutes against Arizona but would ensure the Blue Devils would not drop consecutive games.
Kyle Filipowski would add 15 points and eight rebounds to the winning cause but Ryan Young, who also struggled mightily against Arizona, put together one of his best performances as a Duke player with eight points, seven rebounds, and two assists.
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Mark Mitchell and Tyrese Proctor also reached double figures with each scoring 13 points as Jeremy Roach, who drilled a dagger jump shot on the baseline, finished with seven points and five assists.
Duke returns to Cameron Indoor Stadium on Friday night (6:00p.m. ET, ACC Network) to play the first of its three games in the Blue Devil Invitational against Bucknell (1-3).