5-star recruit Caleb Foster: “Duke was my dream school from Day 1”
Caleb Foster always wanted to be a Duke Blue Devil, long before he left Hickory Ridge High School in Harrisburg, transferred to national power Oak Hill in Mouth of Wilson, Virginia, and developed into a 5-star basketball recruit.
So when the Blue Devils offered him a scholarship earlier this year, it didn’t take Foster too long to commit, even though he won’t hit campus until the summer of 2023.
“Duke was my dream school from day one,” Foster said after playing at the Phenom Hoops/Carmel Christian Tip-Off Saturday night in Charlotte. “They came after me and really pushed. They told me I have a chance to come right in and be the starting point and lead the program.”
247 Sports ranks Foster, a 6-foot-5, 190-pound junior, as the No. 2 point guard in America in his class behind former Combine Academy star Robert Dillingham, now playing in California for Kanye West’s Donda Academy. 247 ranks Foster as the No. 12 overall player.
The top 20 includes three players with N.C. ties: Dillingham at No. 10, Foster and Vertical Academy guard Mikey Williams, who is No. 14.
And while Foster can’t wait to get started in Durham, he won’t get the chance to play for legendary coach Mike Krzyzewski, who is retiring after the 2021-22 season.
Foster will play for current Duke assistant Jon Scheyer, who will become head coach next season.
“People say he might be a new coach and might not be good,” Foster said, “but I think he’s going to be one of the best coaches in college basketball. He sat with Coach K for many years. He played for Coach K. He got a national championship, so he definitely knows what it takes to win at the highest level.”
On Saturday, Foster said he was amped to play in front of friends and family in Charlotte. He didn’t have one of his typical games, scoring seven points, and the previously unbeaten Warriors suffered a big upset to N.C. power Greensboro Day 55-54.
“I couldn’t wait” to play, Foster said. “We didn’t come out how we wanted to, we didn’t finish the game as we wanted to, but we’re going to get back on the right path.”
Playing before a sold-out crowd, with a long line waiting to get inside, Greensboro Day trailed by as many as 15 points in the first half before trimming the Warriors’ lead to six points at 29-23 at the half. The Bengals took over in the second half as they outscored Oak Hill 32-25 to spring the one-point upset win. The Warriors had one last chance to win the game in the final seconds. Oak Hill had the ball with 2.9 seconds remaining, but Judah Mintz’s long-range shot at the buzzer missed.
Legendary and longtime Bengals’ coach Freddie Johnson recently had neck surgery but was on the bench for Saturday’s win. However, he largely turned over coaching duties to his assistants.
“I am so thrilled with our team play tonight,” Johnson said. “Our coaching staff had us so well-prepared for this game. Jeff Smith (Greensboro Day assistant coach) stepped in there, had a great scouting report for us, and we held them to the lowest point total that they’ve had all season.”
Greensboro Day had four players in double figures with Michael Zanoni leading with 13 points. Jaydon Young, Nikolas Graves and Graham Worland all finished with 12 points.
For the Warriors, Mintz had 14 points and Devin Ree added 11.
THREE WHO MATTERED
Nikolas Graves, Greensboro Day: Senior point guard was named the game’s MVP with 12 points, nine rebounds and seven assists.
Judah Mintz, Oak Hill Academy: Senior guard lead the Warriors in scoring with 14 points, including 10 points in the final quarter.
Jaydon Young Greensboro Day: The junior guard was key to breaking the Oak Hill full-court press late in the game when the Warriors came back from seven points down to get within one point.
WORTH MENTIONING
▪ Two other Oak Hill Academy players have Charlotte area ties besides Foster, as Christian Reeves (Cannon School) and Jeremy Gregory (North Mecklenburg) are also on the Warriors roster.
▪ Bengals’ senior guard Michael Zanoni is in second season with Greensboro Day after playing his freshman and sophomore seasons at Charlotte’s Providence Day. Junior guard Graham Worland transferred from Hough High in Cornelius to play for Greensboro Day this season.
WHAT’S NEXT: Oak Hill Academy will play Tuesday in Johnston, Tennessee, against Providence Academy, while Greensboro Day will play at Bethany High School (Summerfield, N.C.).
THEY SAID IT: “It’s fabulous. It’s something I’ve worked hard for and it’s always been a goal of mine.” — Oak Hill’s Caleb Foster on being named the top point guard in the nation for the 2023 recruiting class.
RECORDS: Oak Hill (4-1); Greensboro Day (2-0)
Saturday’s Schedule/Scores
Wayne Country Day 80, Concord Academy 61
Liberty Heights 67, Legion Collegiate 60
Northside Christian 60, Cannon School 53
Moravian Prep 82, Winston-Salem Christian 77
Greensboro Day 55, Oak Hill 54
Combine Academy 91, NC Good, Better, Best 73
Carmel Christian 74, Westminster Catawba 62
Northside Christian upsets Cannon School
Playing without star player Wesley Tubbs, Northside Christian upset Cannon School 60-53 Saturday at the Carmel Christian/Phenom Hoops Tip-Off.
Cannon School has won the past two N.C. large division state championships in private school.
On Saturday, Northside got 18 points from Antonio Perkins, 16 points, three rebounds and three assists from Mychael Mitchell and 11 points from Daniel Lubamba in the win.
Cannon School was led by 19 points from senior DJ Nix. Karon Boyd had 16 points and 17 rebounds.
Northside was up 18-0 Friday on nationally ranked Combine Academy before losing after Tubbs went down with an injury in the second quarter.
9th-grader Eli Ellis leads Moravian Prep to big win
Moravian Prep freshman Eli Ellis, who already holds an offer from West Virginia, had a monster game against Winston-Salem Christian on Saturday.
He had a game-high 31 points in a 82-77 win over a strong, experienced team.
His brother, Isaac, an eighth-grader, had 12 points in Saturday’s win.
Monster night from Jayden Epps powers Combine to win
A few days after signing with Illinois, Combine Academy’s Jayden Epps celebrated with a huge game.
He had 39 points in Combine’s 91-73 win over NC Good, Better, Best in a game that was going to match up former UNC teammates Jeff McInnis and Rasheed Wallace. McInnis is the head coach at Combine and Wallace was leading Durham’s NC Good, Better, Best before he took a college job at Memphis.
On Saturday, Epps had 18 points in the first half and 21 in the second.
Saturday’s Summaries
CARMEL CHRISTIAN 74, WESTMINSTER CATAWBA 62
WESTMINSTER 62 -- Addie 3, Petiote 7, MJ Collins 23, Black 4, Derek Bradley 12, Rogers 2, Booker 5
CARMEL 74 -- Arias 4, Bean 6, Smith 6, Cade Tyson 26, Nyles Howard 13, Threatt 8, Krawczyk 6, Siler 3
COMBINE ACADEMY 91, NC GOOD, BETTER, BEST 73
NC GOOD BETTER BEST 73: Lightfoot 8, Keyon Webb 18, Caden Bell 10, Powell 6, White 7, Ellis 9, Tichyque Musaka 15
COMBINE ACADEMY 91: AJ Smith 14, Baucom 3, Murphy 2, Patrick Wessler 13, Jayden Epps 39, Green 2, Baptiste 4, Braylhan Thomas 10, Bote’ 4
GREENSBORO DAY 55, OAK HILL 54
GREENSBORO DAY 55: Michael Zanoni 13, Nikolas Graves 11, Collins 6, Jaydon Young 12, Graham Worland 11
OAK HILL 54: Devin Ree 11, Brown 2, Foster 7, Bailey 3, McBride 2, Gregory 6, Judah Mintz 16, Reeves 7
LIBERTY HEIGHTS 67, LEGION COLLEGIATE 60
LEGION COLLEGIATE 60: Shane Blakeney 24, Quentin Houston 14, Nelson 4, Penosky 3, Green 4, Kell 9, Salter 2
LIBERTY HEIGHTS 60: Elijah Jamison 15, Morgan 3, Ausar 9, Demary 6, Prather 7, McDonald 7, Lemon 6, McClenahan 7, Perry 5
MORAVIAN PREP 82, WINSTON-SALEM CHRISTIAN 77
MORAVIAN PREP 82: Isaac Ellis 12, Campbell 9, Wol 7, Holt 5, Banks 5, Coles 4, Eli Ellis 31, Ryan Roberts 11
WINSTON-SALEM CHRISTIAN 77: Quante Berry 10, Camian Shell 14, Isaiah Washington 17, Essandoko 3, Lewis Walker 16, Rasean McMiller 12
NORTHSIDE CHRISTIAN 60, CANNON SCHOOL 53
CANNON SCHOOL 53: Swart 5, Claggett 10, Henry 4, Haagedorn 2, DJ Nix 19, Karon Boyd 16
NORTHSIDE 60: Daniel Lubamba 11, Mychael Mitchell 16, Chapin 2, Jamison 2, Mattocks 6, Antonio Perkins 18, Goudelock 2
WAYNE COUNTRY DAY 80, CONCORD ACADEMY 61
CONCORD ACADEMY 61: Jayden Munson 12, Cvetkovic 2, Noah Van Bibber 12, Diarra 6, Tchanda 4, Boyd 8
WAYNE COUNTRY DAY 80: Cogdell 2, Jordan Cooper 14, Jones 2, Collin Tanner 25, Williams 7, Jayshin Waller 13, Cole 2, Carlos Vazquez 10
This story was originally published November 13, 2021 at 4:26 PM.
