Saturday, March 28, 2009
By DOUG LESMERISES
Arms crossed, face blank, Jim Foster will direct, cajole, encourage and admonish his players and the officials during Ohio State’s Sweet 16 game against Stanford tonight in Berkeley, Calif., and you’ll never know it.
That nod? Peering over his glasses? The half-smirk? After 31 years as a coach, that’s all Foster needs.
“He’ll just give you a look,” OSU guard Shavelle Little said. “His silence is so powerful.”
So are the smiles. While leading a team into the NCAA tournament for the 23rd time, Foster in his own contemplative yet dryly amusing style hasn’t been able to stop talking about how much he loves this team. Since the first day of practice, the 60-year-old Foster has been a sucker for this team’s camaraderie and purpose. A Philadelphia guy through and through who has interrupted interview sessions when his brother calls to talk about the Phillies or the Eagles, Foster appreciates teams with an edge.
This team is playing with one as No. 3 Ohio State prepares to face No. 2 Stanford in the Berkeley Regional, and that has left him more open to hugs.
“I hugged him when I came on my visit. That was it. It was a little awkward. He’s definitely not warm and fuzzy. He’s more like a wise old owl. But we can read him like a book at this point,” said OSU senior Ashlee Trebilcock
“The players are different,” Foster said. “If the players are working harder, if the players are more responsible, motivation doesn’t have to be every day.”
The players see that in themselves and in their coach as well. Vowing to play a deep bench with a more athletic, attacking style of both ends of the court, the season has played out just as Foster planned. So why wouldn’t he be happy?
“He just smiles more this year,” said Jantel Lavender, a sophomore and the Big Ten player of the year. “Last year he was more serious. This year he knows he can be a little more lenient with us and we’ll still play hard.”
So he rewarded them. Senior Star Allen noticed that Foster adjusted his typical sideline wardrobe of black and gray sweaters to include a red shirt under the sweater on Senior Day.
They’ve rewarded him. The result is Ohio State’s second trip to the Sweet 16 in Foster’s seven years in Columbus.