Roderick Allen Foster (born October 10, 1960) is a retired American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player (6'1", 160 lb) who played for the Phoenix Suns of the NBA. He was drafted out of

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...

in 1983 in the second round of the NBA Draft (28th pick overall).

Career

As a senior at

St Thomas Aquinas Thomas Aquinas, OP (; it, Tommaso d'Aquino, lit=Thomas of Aquino; 1225 – 7 March 1274) was an Italian Dominican friar and priest who was an influential philosopher, theologian and jurist in the tradition of scholasticism; he is known wit ...

in New Britain, Connecticut, "Rocket" Rod Foster averaged 30.2 points per game, and led his team to the State Championship. He was named an Adidas All-American and second team

Parade All-American ''Parade'' was an American nationwide Sunday newspaper magazine, distributed in more than 700 newspapers in the United States until 2022. The most widely read magazine in the U.S., ''Parade'' had a circulation of 32 million and a readership of 5 ...

. A prized recruit, Foster chose to attend

, recruited to the school by coach Larry Brown. As a freshman at UCLA, Foster helped lead the Bruins to the

1980 NCAA Division I Basketball Tournament The 1980 NCAA Division I basketball tournament involved 48 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 6th, 1980, and ended with the championship g ...

Finals in 1980, where they lost to the

Louisville Cardinals The Louisville Cardinals (also known as the Cards) are the NCAA athletic teams representing the University of Louisville. The Cardinals teams play in the Atlantic Coast Conference, beginning in the 2014 season. While playing in the Big East Co ...

, playing under coach Larry Brown. Foster led UCLA with 16 points in the 59–54 loss, adding 6 steals and 5 assists. In the second round of the 1980 NCAA tournament, #8 seed UCLA upset the #1 overall seed

DePaul Blue Demons The DePaul Blue Demons are the athletic teams that represent DePaul University, located in Chicago, Illinois. The Blue Demons participate in NCAA Division I and are a member of the Big East Conference. DePaul’s Athletic Director is DeWayne P ...

, led by Foster's 18 points in a 77–71 victory. Foster then had 19 points in the next NCAA tournament game, a 72–68 win over the

Ohio State Buckeyes The Ohio State Buckeyes are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Ohio State University, located in Columbus, Ohio. The athletic programs are named after the colloquial term for people from the state of Ohio and after the state tre ...

. Overall, as a freshman, Foster averaged 11.5 points, 1.9 rebounds and 3.2 assists. In December 1981, the NCAA put the UCLA basketball program on a two–year probation for violations. Graduating from UCLA, Foster averaged 12.1 points and 2.1 assists per game, shooting 52.0% from the floor and 88.0% from the line in his 113 game UCLA career. Foster was listed as one of the best free throw shooters in NCAA history. Drafted in the 2nd round (28th overall pick) of the 1983 NBA draft, Foster's playing career was ended prematurely due to injury. In his NBA career, Foster averaged 7.2 points and 2.3 assists in 207 career games with the Phoenix Suns. In March, 1986, Foster suffered a broken leg in a jeep accident in the Arizona desert which ended his playing career. Foster was driving, with Phoenix Suns teammates Mike Sanders and

Ed Pinckney Edward Lewis Pinckney (born March 27, 1963) is an American former professional basketball player. College career He attended Villanova University and was a part of the Villanova Wildcats' 1981 heralded recruiting class that included Gary McL ...

as passengers, when the jeep tipped and crushed Foster's leg, causing severe injuries.

Personal

As of 2016, Foster was the head of the L.A. Rockets youth basketball program in Los Angeles. Early in 2016, he also briefly coached the boys varsity high school basketball team at the

Windward School Windward School is an independent school in the Mar Vista neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. It was founded by writer/teacher Shirley Windward in 1971. The school currently enr ...

in Los Angeles. In 2020, Foster was named to the CIAC Boys Basketball All–Century team. John Bagley,

Kris Dunn Kristofer Michael Dunn (born March 18, 1994) is an American professional basketball player for the Capital City Go-Go of the NBA G League. He played four seasons of college basketball for the Providence Friars before being drafted with the fifth ...

, Johnny Egan,

Mike Gminski Michael Thomas Gminski (born August 3, 1959) is an American former professional basketball player and a college basketball TV analyst for CBS Sports. In 2003, Gminski, of Polish descent, was inducted into the National Polish American Sports Hall ...

Calvin Murphy Calvin Jerome Murphy (born May 9, 1948) is an American former professional basketball player who after a prolific collegiate career at Niagara, where he averaged 33.1 points per game over his three years, played in the National Basketball Assoc ...

( Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame), Harold Pressley and John Williamson were among the other 24 recipients.

References

External links

NBA statistics
{{DEFAULTSORT:Foster, Rod 1960 births Living people African-American basketball players All-American college men's basketball players American men's basketball players Basketball players from Birmingham, Alabama Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) Phoenix Suns draft picks Phoenix Suns players Point guards Quad City Thunder players Rapid City Thrillers players San Jose Jammers players Savannah Spirits players UCLA Bruins men's basketball players 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American sportspeople