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Jimmy Foster

GandBinNC

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Jul 12, 2011
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Raleigh, NC (from Columbia, SC)
GC members/readers, I am doing some research into the early Bill Foster era, focused on Jimmy Foster and his life/career. I would be most grateful for the opportunity to chat with anyone who knew or knows Jimmy, including high school teammates/friends and particularly former USC teammates.

Please pm me at imcap14@gmail.com

Thanks in advance and Go Cocks!
 
Does he still have a warrant for his arrest ?

He was convicted (for the "Dick Dyer incident") in absentia in 1986 and received a sealed sentence pending his return to S.C.

Jimmy's is an interesting story. He left USC as the 3rd all time leading scorer and to this day is 5th all time in scoring and rebounding. Of the top ten individual performances for season field goal percentage, Jimmy owns four spots, including the #1 spot (.611% - 1982-83).

He was a brilliant performer under the basket. A blue-collar raging bull. His personal life has often been problematic. A very interesting story.
 
He was convicted (for the "Dick Dyer incident") in absentia in 1986 and received a sealed sentence pending his return to S.C.

Jimmy's is an interesting story. He left USC as the 3rd all time leading scorer and to this day is 5th all time in scoring and rebounding. Of the top ten individual performances for season field goal percentage, Jimmy owns four spots, including the #1 spot (.611% - 1982-83).

He was a brilliant performer under the basket. A blue-collar raging bull. His personal life has often been problematic. A very interesting story.
While I was at USC I saw Bob Fulton escorting Jimmy around the elephant room signing up for classes. I guess Bob drew the short straw. I reasoned that Jimmy either didn't have the ability to sign up for a class and/or the desire. It was an odd scene.
 
One of the best down-low fighters I have ever seen. 9 times out of 10 he was going to get that loose ball. Couldn't hit a free throw to save his life, though. Can't remember if there was something wrong with his elbow or not?
 
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GC members/readers, I am doing some research into the early Bill Foster era, focused on Jimmy Foster and his life/career. I would be most grateful for the opportunity to chat with anyone who knew or knows Jimmy, including high school teammates/friends and particularly former USC teammates.

Please pm me at imcap14@gmail.com

Thanks in advance and Go Cocks!

u must move 2 gvl 2 get the story
 
I played against Jimmy in HS. His Wade Hampton team was one of the better teams in SC that season, but I don't recall their rank at that time. My team (Laurens HS) was a decent team, but not a great team. We underachieved for the most part, but that night we had them beat. Up by 1 pt., all we had to do was hold the ball, and run the clock out, but we turned the ball over. Jimmy wound up with the ball with under 10 seconds to play, and we fouled him. Then the guy who could barely hit the backboard from the free throw line at USC, calmly sank 2 free throws nothing but net. I took the last shot which would have given us the upset, but it rimmed out. It always stuck in my crawl to see his pathetic free throw attempts at Carolina.
 
One of my favorites of all time. He gave us false hope following the McGuire era. But he owned the Coliseum. Who was the Gorilla guy...he was blue collar! One of my first games attended, I remember the students on the baseline dressed in gorilla suits.
 
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One of the best down-low fighters I have ever seen. 9 times out of 10 he was going to get that loose ball. Couldn't hit a free throw to save his life, though. Can't remember if there was something wrong with his elbow or not?

It may have been from when he broke his arm in HS. I was a Freshman when Jimmy was a Junior. He broke his arm on a dunk the very first time that I saw him play a HS game.
 
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Jimmy had knee surgery at some point. As soon as he got out of the hospital, he limped all the way across campus without crutches to change his girlfriend’s flat tire. I knew a guy who asked Jimmy if he needed any help, of course he said he was fine.
 
One of my favorites of all time. He gave us false hope following the McGuire era. But he owned the Coliseum. Who was the Gorilla guy...he was blue collar! One of my first games attended, I remember the students on the baseline dressed in gorilla suits.
I remember following HS,Jimmy wrote Atlanta Hawks President Pete Babcock a letter expressing his desire to go straight to the NBA.Didn’t happen.Jimmy was relentless under the basket.Opponents bigs would block his shot but Jimmy would get the ball and go back up.One game against Memphis State he made a 10’jumper and the Coliseum erupted.I believe Jimmy missed more free throws than the rest of the team took,if I remember the stats.
 
He was convicted (for the "Dick Dyer incident") in absentia in 1986 and received a sealed sentence pending his return to S.C.

Jimmy's is an interesting story. He left USC as the 3rd all time leading scorer and to this day is 5th all time in scoring and rebounding. Of the top ten individual performances for season field goal percentage, Jimmy owns four spots, including the #1 spot (.611% - 1982-83).

He was a brilliant performer under the basket. A blue-collar raging bull. His personal life has often been problematic. A very interesting story.

You nailed it. I don't know that I've ever seen a player go harder than Jimmy Foster. He was something to behold in the paint.
 
I played against Jimmy in HS. His Wade Hampton team was one of the better teams in SC that season, but I don't recall their rank at that time. My team (Laurens HS) was a decent team, but not a great team. We underachieved for the most part, but that night we had them beat. Up by 1 pt., all we had to do was hold the ball, and run the clock out, but we turned the ball over. Jimmy wound up with the ball with under 10 seconds to play, and we fouled him. Then the guy who could barely hit the backboard from the free throw line at USC, calmly sank 2 free throws nothing but net. I took the last shot which would have given us the upset, but it rimmed out. It always stuck in my crawl to see his pathetic free throw attempts at Carolina.

It’s amazing how many high school teams CANT hold on to the ball when that’s all they have to do to win. Take shots without a shot clock, dribble the ball off their leg, throw a horrible pass, etc.....Sorry about the L but it sounds like a great game.
 
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"Jimmy's been watching Elaine....Jimmy's going to get to know you"...."Elaine is Jimmy's type"
...."Jimmy's going to ask Elaine out"....
 
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GC members/readers, I am doing some research into the early Bill Foster era, focused on Jimmy Foster and his life/career. I would be most grateful for the opportunity to chat with anyone who knew or knows Jimmy, including high school teammates/friends and particularly former USC teammates.

Please pm me at imcap14@gmail.com

Thanks in advance and Go Cocks!
all the other stories are great. But remember we were still a basketball school when foster was here. We were as blue collar team. I remember Bill Foster went after another teams coach after a game. Also we made the NIT which was a big deal back then. We had a sold out arena for a couple of games. I believe we were playing VT and Jimmy Foster got kicked in the eye. His eye was swollen shut. He kept on playing. He was a man's man.
 
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I remember a game at Clemson, Jimmy broke away and threw down a tomahawk dunk. As he started back up court, he gave the Clemson student section the "fingerless" bird (clenched fist with an "up yours" motion, minus the middle finger). It was awesome!
 
all the other stories are great. But remember we were still a basketball school when foster was here. We were as blue collar team. I remember Bill Foster went after another teams coach after a game. Also we made the NIT which was a big deal back then. We had a sold out arena for a couple of games. I believe we were playing VT and Jimmy Foster got kicked in the eye. His eye was swollen shut. He kept on playing. He was a man's man.
Are you sure that wasn't Bill's top assistant ? I can't recall his name. Bill was out with some medical issue. The game was against San Francisco and the play was nasty - lot's of elbows and shoving. We lost by a shot but both bench's coaches were mouthing off at each other and after the game, our guy went after the HC. I remember them being pretty good but a couple of years later they shutdown their program.
 
1986 Article

NEW NU COACH DENIES TICKET SALE
Mike ConklinCHICAGO TRIBUNE

The conviction of a former South Carolina basketball player for fraudulent use of a car has widened into allegations of an illegal ticket-selling network among Gamecock players during Bill Foster`s tenure as coach.
But the new Northwestern coach, who learned of the situation when he returned to Chicago Tuesday from a clinic in Greece, denied any wrongdoing.
''All I know is when I was there we did everything by the rules, and tickets were out of our (coaches`) hands,'' said Foster.
An NCAA enforcement official said the association hasn`t decided whether there will be an investigation.

Northwestern athletic director Doug Single, who said he has discussed the matter with Foster, indicated 100 percent confidence in his recent NU appointee.
''At this point, I`m just aware of allegations, and what I understand, after our brief conversation, is that much of it is up for conjecture since it`s coming from one kid involved in numerous difficulties,'' said Single.
''Knowing Bill`s ethics, I`m sure there will be no problems. No one has called me to say Bill is involved in anything.''
A conviction in absentia Monday of former Gamecock star Jimmy Foster, who is playing pro basketball in Australia, touched off the ticket-selling allegations. The 25-year-old Foster (no relation) was arrested for breach of trust with fraudulent intent for taking a car from a dealer after reportedly failing to make payments.
Reached by telephone in Melbourne by the Columbia (S.C.) Record, Foster accused school boosters of handing out cars, trips and money to Gamecock players.
He also said a ticket network in which players sometimes received 100 percent mark-up for their season-ticket books was in operation at least from 1980-85 and that all coaches knew of it.
Dave Blank, a Gamecock graduate assistant at the time who is now at Northwestern, told the Associated Press: ''What we tried to do was put players in touch with people looking for season tickets. That was the extent of it. The money never passed me.''
Foster`s allegation concerning the ticket network was confirmed by four other Gamecocks, according to the Columbia Record.
''Jimmy had problems while he was with us,'' said coach Foster, ''and we tried to help. But it was always within the rules. I`m shocked and surprised at all of this. I don`t know the players` motivations for saying what they have.''
The NCAA has outlawed the sale of tickets by players since 1980, according to enforcement representative Missy Conboy.
''If coaches have knowledge, or have a part in it . . . if they were selling to a known booster, or if a coach was acting as a broker, then the penalties would be more severe,'' she said.
South Carolina athletic director Bob Marcum said he doubted the charges, but indicated the school would follow up on them.
 
I would have liked to have seen John Roche and Jimmy Foster play together. They would just feed off each other because both were brutal competitors and talked trash to opposing players, bench and fans. The brawling season that wasn't.
 
I remember a game at Clemson, Jimmy broke away and threw down a tomahawk dunk. As he started back up court, he gave the Clemson student section the "fingerless" bird (clenched fist with an "up yours" motion, minus the middle finger). It was awesome!
I could not remember if dunking was allowed back then but now I know. When Lew Alcindor (Kareem) went to play for UCLA, the NCAA banned dunks for a period of time. I hated it for the Roche-Owens era guys and after that, the Alex English years.
 
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Are you sure that wasn't Bill's top assistant ? I can't recall his name. Bill was out with some medical issue. The game was against San Francisco and the play was nasty - lot's of elbows and shoving. We lost by a shot but both bench's coaches were mouthing off at each other and after the game, our guy went after the HC. I remember them being pretty good but a couple of years later they shutdown their program.

The top assistant during Bill Foster's tenure was Steve Stienwedel. He took on head coaching responsibilities during the 17 games of the 1982-83 season when Foster was out recovering from a heart attack. That was also the NIT season - the best of Foster's six seasons at USC. Some really exciting W's that season, including several last second shots. The final regular season game was a 52-51 win over DePaul which forward Kenny Holmes won on a last second baseline jumper. I have never heard the Coliseum louder than that moment.

The game where Jimmy was kicked in the eye was a second round NIT game versus Virginia Tech - a 75-68 win. I'll never forget Jimmy writhing in pain. He came back after halftime and turned in a brilliant, gritty performance.

Carolina finished 20-9 that season. A number of teams with less impressive resumes made it into the NCAA tournament over Carolina that season, and that was the final straw which pushed USC into accepting a bid to the Metro Conference, a push that was led by new AD Bob Marcum. The writing was on the wall. Major Independent status was no longer a viable option, at least in men's basketball.

Speaking of fights, the following season, 1983-84 was Carolina's first in the Metro and Jimmy's senior season. One of the best fights I can recall was in the home finale versus Southern Miss. Jimmy got tangled up with one of their big guys and fisticuffs ensued. Foster and the SM guy were ejected, but it was a real spectacle. I believe a fan behind the Carolina bench had a heart attack and the game had to be paused for quite a bit to restore order and get the fan carted away. The pep band started chanting "Don't mess with Jimmy, don't mess with Jimmy", and it caught on throughout the arena.

What I wouldn't give to see some of those old games on YouTube.
 
Called him “Truck” at Carolina. 2 of my friends from h.s. were team managers during part of Jimmy’s time there. Said he was just as intense in practice as in games
 
I would have liked to have seen John Roche and Jimmy Foster play together. They would just feed off each other because both were brutal competitors and talked trash to opposing players, bench and fans. The brawling season that wasn't.

I've thought about that too. Can you imagine Jimmy paired at forward with Ribock?? It would have been murderers row. Nobody would have driven the lane, or lived to tell about it if they did.
 
I played JV ball for Greer. When we played Wade Hampton we had to stick around for the varsity game. Late in that game, something happened (I think maybe a foul call or something minor) and I watch Jimmy literally lose his mind. After two much deserved technicals, he was so mad he was sobbing on the court and refused to leave. Eventually his poor dad had to come down from the stands and walk him off. I thought it was so sad and clearly Jimmy struggled with personal issues for many years. However, he'll always be a Gamecock and regardless deserves to be treated with dignity and respect.
 
I was about to walk into the PE Center one time when Alex English, Jimmy Foster, and several other very tall guys were coming out, all sweating from playing. Jimmy was bleeding from a cut on his face, but looked happy as a kid on Christmas morning
 
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