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Tag Archive - Jeff Foster

Hustling Cager Jeff Foster Retires

March 21, 2012 in by with 3 Comments

james m (flickr)

“It’s with deep regret that I have to conclude my basketball career,” said Foster. “I’ve given my all to the Pacers and the community the last 13 years. I had hoped to be able to finish the season, but unfortunately my back problems prevented that from occurring. I want to thank the Simon family and the Pacers’ organization for 13 memorable years.”

- Via Jeff Foster Retires from NBA  from Inside Hoops

And with that, the last link to the last glory years of the Pacers has left the court.

Jeff Foster was a rookie on the 2000 Indiana Pacers that lost in 6 games to the Los Angeles Lakers, although Foster was left off the playoff roster. In a much more prominent role, Foster started alongside Jermain O’Neal for the 2004 Pacers that won 61 games and lost in heart aching fashion to the Detroit Pistons in the Eastern Conference Finals. Then came The Troubles. Brawls, firearms, drug possession and losing.

But this here was a player who gave all the damns you could ever want. Jeff Foster was there hustling his butt off, diving for loose balls, snaring down rebounds and getting under the skin of opponents with his defense. When the Pacers finally returned to the postseason last year, it was a joy for me to see Foster take to the court with the new Pacers and show them a little of the playoff mettle he saw from old-timers like Reggie Miller, Dale Davis and Derrick McKey when he was young and on the bench.

He wasn’t particularly spry with the bad back that forced his retirement today limiting his effectiveness then, but he still dished out some (at-times unnecessarily) hard fouls and caromed rebounds in his limited time on the court. It was enjoyable, but he was a shell of himself.

During his heyday (2002 – 2009), Foster ranked 7th in the league in total rebound percentage and 6th in total rebounds per 36 minutes.  Foster also delivered the 24th most fouls while playing the 110th most minutes. He was really getting his money’s worth and Indiana fans appreciated the effort he always put forth.

In his 13 seasons, Foster managed to climb high in several all-time categories for the Pacers. Unsurprisingly he made the highest ascent in three telling categories.

Games Played – 4th with 764

Rebounds – 4th with 5,248

And, yes, fouls – 4th with 1,921

I’m sad to see him go, but I know Luol Deng can sleep easier at night.

Farewell, Jeff Foster.

I Guess Apologizing To Jeff Foster Wasn’t Enough

September 17, 2011 in by with 3 Comments

[flash http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=osP6Ak0CkGU w=640 h=480]

I don’t expect you to be a fan of Ron Artest/Metta World Peace if you’re from Indianapolis. The Malice at the Palace  was awful for everyone who cares about the NBA and, if you’re a Pacers fan, it turned your championship contender into an average team. The roster moves that followed mired them in several more years of mediocrity from which the team is still trying to escape. Apologizing to the organization after winning a title was awesome, but it did not undo the damage that was done that night in Detroit. This WISH story on his name change bugged me, though. From the above video:

His publicist says, “The new first name, Metta, in the Buddhist tradition means loving, kindness, and friendliness toward others,” which we failed to see in Detroit a few years ago.

I know it’s just a 50-second item on the show’s rundown, but it annoys me when people act as if the brawl in Detroit was the only thing that, uh, World Peace has done in his lifetime. To get my biases out of the way, I’ll admit I’m a fan of the guy and I’ve got this print on my wall. The whole thing seems in poor taste, though — the story opened with, “Ron Artest is no more… sort of,” which caused the second anchor to laugh. It closed with joking about him wearing a pageant sash. I’m not going to get on my high horse and demand that the people of Indiana forgive him, but he deserves more respect than this, no? He’s a J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award winner, dammit.

Apparently Jeff Foster May Be The Price Of Freedom. Who Knew?

January 11, 2010 in by with 0 Comments

Denver’s desire to acquire an extra big man to throw at the defending champs from L.A. is no secret.

What I didn’t realize until the weekend is the need to start describing the Nuggets’ affection for Pacer lifer Jeff Foster in stronger terms.

Love is the word used by two sources close to the situation.

The obstacles to a Foster-to-Denver deal, though, are considerable.

Obstacle No. 1: Foster has one more season left on his contract after this season at nearly $6.7 million and has a 15-percent trade kicker in his contract. As much as the Nuggets would be thrilled to have Foster – giving them one more mobile counter to all of the Lakers’ feared size – that’s a lot to take on for a team that’s already looking at a luxury-tax payment in July of more than $5 million.

Obstacle No. 2: My man Chad Ford noted in his latest chat that the Nuggets would almost certainly need to find a third team to facilitate a deal for Foster unless they were willing to surrender rookie guard Ty Lawson. And you obviously presume Denver won’t be surrendering the speedy Lawson, who Chad says Indy nearly chose ahead Tyler Hansbrough and looks like an absolute steal as last June’s No. 18 pick.

via More trade chatter (if that’s OK) – TrueHoop Blog – ESPN.

Really? Jeff Foster? I mean, a good player, but for real? That’s the missing piece? But then, I guess you never know. If Eddie House is a vital component on a championship team, Jeff Foster can be one, too.

I’m violently opposed to chaining talented guards to the bench, especially behind established veterans, so I like the idea of Lawson getting loose. Particularly since Indiana could desperately use a young point. They’re unlikely to land Wall in the draft, and T.J. Ford is, um, well, enthusiastic about his own abilities without quite having the abilities to justify that confidence. It would be terrific to see him get his own show in Indiana.

Stein also talks about the McGrady-Knicks potential. You can’t believe Eddy Curry is worth the investment. David Lee might be but you’d have to take on he or Harrington to get the money deal going. I do believe Morey’s not going to buy him out. That team’s put up with enough crap from him, they can put up with it for another six months.

How bizarre would it be if McGrady ended up in Detroit for Tayshaun? McGrady ends his career where Grant Hill started his, after cosmically crossing paths in Orlando?

I’m not going to talk about Tyrus Thomas. I’m just not going to go spelunking in that cave.