The Duke basketball program earned a come-from-behind victory on Thanksgiving over No. 22 Arkansas, and one of the biggest impact players in the second half for the Blue Devils was junior guard Caleb Foster, who's now turning into one of the best stories in all of college basketball. After entering the 2024-25 season as a starter considered one of the top breakout candidates in the sport, Foster was extremely disappointing. He was almost unplayable for the majority of the second half of the regular season. Most thought that Foster's time in Durham was up, expecting the guard to hit the transfer portal in search of an elevated role elsewhere, but that wasn't the case. After Jon Scheyer lost his entire 2024-25 starting five to the NBA Draft, Foster elected to return to Duke and revamp his career.
Foster once again opened the season as the team's starting point guard, and he hasn't disappointed. His stats won't exactly jump out at anybody, but his impact is so clear to see. Against the Razorbacks, Foster put together his best performance of the season, and was one of the biggest reasons why the Blue Devils were able to battle back from a seven-point deficit and take an 80-71 victory in Chicago.
Jon Scheyer "proud" of Caleb Foster after stellar performance in Duke basketball win over No. 22 Arkansas
Against the Razorbacks, Foster tallied a season-high 15 points to go along with five rebounds and eight assists on 5-of-10 (50%) shooting from the field and 2-of-3 (66.7%) shooting from the three point line. The junior is also turning into Duke's best perimeter defender, consistently shutting down the opposition's top guard. Foster did a phenomenal job taking Arkansas 5-star freshman guard Darius Acuff Jr. out of rhythm in the second half after Acuff began to find a major groove.
After the win, Scheyer had some awesome words about Foster.
"I'm proud of Caleb," Scheyer said. "This is part of what college basketball is all about. We've been on a journey together -- he's hung tough. He has always wanted me to be honest with him. And he really came through in a big way tonight for us."
Foster is turning into one of the best stories in the sport, completely bouncing back from an extremely disappointing season to be a crucial part of Duke's run for a sixth national title. He bought into his role, and his perimeter defense has been crucial for the Blue Devils in their big matchups so far.