In his announcement on the Brotherhood Podcast, it became clear that Foster’s engagement with the team never wavered during the low points of his season. Neal Begovich raved about his attitude, even relaying that the Kon Kneuppel emphasized Foster’s resiliency as one of the major lesson’s he’ll take with him to the NBA. Foster himself recounted his efforts to motivate his roommate Khaman Maluach going into late-season contests against UNC—games in which Foster himself wasn’t assured to even see the floor.Caleb Foster will surely admit that his sophomore season didn’t go fully as planned.
Despite being a cog in one of Duke’s most successful teams, Foster’s role declined over the course of the year. The Blue Devils’ season arguably turned when Foster lost his starting role to Sion James, and while he transitioned into a sixth man role early on, he was surpassed by freshman Isaiah Evans in the rotation late in the ACC season. Conspicuously, he was the lone player not to play in a blowout victory in Cameron on Senior Night.
It would’ve been all too easy for Foster to check out on his teammates and put one foot in the transfer portal. Instead, he took the challenge to reclaim his role on the team head on. When Duke faced its first game pressure in weeks in Chapel Hill, Foster stepped up with 9 impactful minutes, particularly on the defensive end. In the NCAA Tournament, Foster reestablished himself as the Blue Devils’ sixth man, averaging more than 13 minutes per game an impacting the game beyond his contributions to the box score
