After showcasing his skills in front of Cleveland Cavaliers point guard Kyrie Irving at the Nike Guards Academy in New Jersey, K-State sophomore guard Marcus Foster was selected as one of 30 college players to attend the LeBron James Skills Academy from July 9-12.
“I’m very honored,” Foster said. “It’s something I’ve always wanted to be a part of. To go against a four-time MVP (James), show us some of the little things and to go against some of the top players in the country.”
The Wichita Falls, Texas native will be joined by some of the nation’s best, including University of Kansas forwards sophomore Perry Ellis III and freshman Kelly Oubre, Iowa State junior power forward Georges Niang, West Virginia senior guard Juwan Staten and Wichita State redshirt junior guard Ron Baker.
Working with Irving, a proven NBA point guard, has served as a building block in Foster’s game. According to Foster, development at point guard is something both he and K-State coach Bruce Weber said they believe will benefit his development moving forward.
Position aside, the second-team all-Big 12 candidate was impressive in the eyes of his NBA instructors.
“I got a crazy dunk on a drill and all the NBA players had their eyes open wide because of how high I got up,” Foster said. “Then I hit four NBA three’s in a row and (Philadelphia 76ers point guard) Michael Carter-Williams said, ‘Dang, somebody needs to guard him.’ I think that was a very happy moment for me.”
The NBA contingent consisted of Irving, Carter-Williams, Utah Jazz point guard Trey Burke, Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins and New Orleans Pelicans power forward Anthony Davis.
K-State transfers redshirt sophomore forward Brandon Bolden (Georgetown) and redshirt junior guard Justin Edwards (Maine) will join Foster in the bonus activity this summer, as they’ve been selected to play on the Athletes in Action Tour in Estonia and Latvia.
The pair will play from August 1-14 and are joined on the tour by fellow Big 12 players junior Royce O’Neale and freshman Ish Wainwright of Baylor, and redshirt freshman Landen Lucas of Kansas.
