imported>John of Reading: /* Career */ Removed promotional-looking text from a website name

2025-07-01T14:54:57Z

Career: Removed promotional-looking text from a website name

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{{short description|American basketball player}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{Infobox basketball biography
| name = Rod Foster
| image =
| width =
| caption =
| height_ft = 6
| height_in = 1
| weight_lb = 160
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1960|10|10}}
| birth_place = [[Birmingham, Alabama]], U.S.
| high_school = [[St. Thomas Aquinas High School (Connecticut)|St. Thomas Aquinas]]<br />([[New Britain, Connecticut]])
| college = [[UCLA Bruins men's basketball|UCLA]] (1979–1983)
| draft_year = 1983
| draft_round = 2
| draft_pick = 28
| draft_team = [[Phoenix Suns]]
| career_start = 1983
| career_end = 1986
| career_number = 10
| career_position = [[Point guard]]
| years1 = {{nbay|1983|start}}–{{nbay|1985|end}}
| team1 = [[Phoenix Suns]]
| highlights =
* Second-team [[NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans|All-American]] – [[United Press International|UPI]] ([[1981 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans|1981]])
* 2× First-team [[List of All-Pac-12 Conference men's basketball teams|All-Pac-10]] (1981, 1983)
* Second-team [[Parade All-America Boys Basketball Team|''Parade'' All-American]] (1979)
}}

'''Roderick Allen Foster''' (born October 10, 1960) is an American former professional [[basketball]] player (6'1", 160 lb) who played for the [[Phoenix Suns]] of the [[National Basketball Association]] (NBA). He was drafted out of [[UCLA Bruins men's basketball|UCLA]] in the second round of the [[1983 NBA draft]] (28th pick overall).

==Career==

As a senior at [[St. Thomas Aquinas High School (Connecticut)|St Thomas Aquinas High School]] 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]].

A prized recruit, Foster chose to attend [[UCLA Bruins men's basketball|UCLA]], recruited to the school by coach [[Larry Brown (basketball)|Larry Brown]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bruinsnation.com/ucla_basketball/2013/4/17/4233256/ucla-basketball-beginnings-and-endings|title=Notable UCLA Basketball Coaches Beginnings & Ends|date=April 17, 2013|website=Bruins Nation}}</ref>

As a freshman at UCLA, Foster helped lead the Bruins to the [[1980 NCAA Division I Basketball Tournament]] Finals in 1980, where they lost to the [[Louisville Cardinals men's basketball|Louisville Cardinals]], 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 men's basketball|DePaul Blue Demons]], 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 men's basketball|Ohio State Buckeyes]]. Overall, as a freshman, Foster averaged 11.5 points, 1.9 rebounds and 3.2 assists.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/boxscores/1980-03-24-louisville.html|title=UCLA vs. Louisville Box Score, March 24, 1980|website=College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/sports/highschool/varsity-times/la-sp-vi-boys-basketball-former-ucla-guard-rod-foster-wins-first-game-as-windward-coach-20160128-story.html|title=Boys' basketball: Former UCLA guard Rod Foster wins first game as Windward coach|date=January 29, 2016|website=Los Angeles Times}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/boxscores/1980-03-09-depaul.html|title=UCLA vs. DePaul Box Score, March 9, 1980|website=College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.si.com/college/ohiostate/basketball/theres-nothing-sweet-about-these-ohio-state-losses|title=There's Nothing Sweet About These Ohio State Losses|first=Bruce|last=Hooley|website=Sports Illustrated|date=27 March 2020 }}</ref>

In December 1981, the NCAA put the UCLA basketball program on a two–year probation for violations.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/sports/1981/12/09/ucla-2-year-probation-80-finish-void/26f7999f-ceaf-4668-a0aa-8398deff7d3e/ |title=UCLA: 2-Year Probation, '80 Finish Void |date=1981-12-09 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |place=Washington, D.C. |issn=0190-8286 |oclc=1330888409}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/players/rod-foster-1.html|title=Rod Foster College Stats|website=College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com}}</ref>

Foster is listed as one of the best free throw shooters in NCAA history, making 95 of 100 free throw attempts or 95.0% completion in his 1982 season.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://wwwcache.ncaa.com/news/basketball-men/article/2020-10-22/best-free-throw-shooters-mens-college-basketball-history|title=The best free-throw shooters in men's college basketball history | NCAA.com|website=wwwcache.ncaa.com}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/f/fostero01.html|title=Rod Foster Stats|website=Basketball-Reference.com}}</ref>

In March, 1986, Foster suffered a compound fracture in his left leg in a jeep accident in the Arizona desert which ended his playing career. Foster was driving, with [[Phoenix Suns]] teammates [[Mike Sanders (basketball)|Mike Sanders]] and [[Ed Pinckney]] as passengers, when the jeep tipped and crushed Foster's leg, causing severe career ending injuries.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-03-25-sp-173-story.html|title=Rod Foster's Ordeal in the Arizona Desert : Jeep Accident Leaves Him With Broken Leg and Endangers His Career|date=March 25, 1986|website=Los Angeles Times}}</ref>

==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]] in Los Angeles.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Sondheimer|first1=Eric|title=Boys' basketball: Rod Foster won't be returning as Windward coach|url=http://www.latimes.com/sports/highschool/varsity-times/la-sp-vi-boys-basketball-rod-foster-won-t-be-returning-as-windward-coach-20160302-story.html|accessdate=23 October 2016|work=Los Angeles Times|date=March 2, 2016}}</ref>

In 2020, Foster was named to the CIAC Boys Basketball All–Century team. [[John Bagley (basketball)|John Bagley]], [[Kris Dunn]], [[Johnny Egan (basketball)|Johnny Egan]],
[[Mike Gminski]], [[Calvin Murphy]] ( Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame), [[Harold Pressley]] and [[John Williamson (basketball, born 1951)|John Williamson]] were among the other 24 recipients.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://ciacsports.com/site/?p=14127|title=CIAC Boys Basketball All Century Team | CIAC}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theday.com/article/20200328/sport03/200329459|title=CIAC All-Century Teams for high school basketball feature five locals}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/f/fostero01.html NBA statistics]

{{1983 NBA draft}}

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

Rod Foster - Revision history

imported>John of Reading: /* Career */ Removed promotional-looking text from a website name