Amid all the strengths from the previous season, lacking a steady ball-handler always was categorized as a weakness for the Boston University men’s basketball team. However, it seems the issue may have already been resolved after the first game of the season.
In his first collegiate game, an 87-84 overtime loss to Northeastern University, freshman guard Kyle Foreman dazzled the crowded Case Gym audience. He buoyed the Terrier (0-1) offense with seven assists to go along with 15 points.
“That guy, he’s got a chance to be terrific,” said BU coach Joe Jones, of Foreman. “If you told me the dude was going to have 15 points and seven assists in his first game, against a team that just went to the NCAA Tournament and lost basically one guy from an NCAA Tournament team, I’ll take that.”
Though he was electric in his debut with the scarlet and white, Foreman received his fifth foul call with 1:29 left in regulation, confining him to the bench for the rest of the game.
When the action spilled into overtime, it was clear that Foreman’s presence was missed in the offense. Although the Terriers only lost on a 3-pointer from Huskies (1-0) senior Caleb Donnelly, the flow of the game on the Terriers’ offensive end was noticeably disjointed throughout overtime.
“It was frustrating, the last foul kind of got in my head, but I was proud of the guys,” Foreman said. “Every time they made a big play we would step right back up and follow it with something bigger.”
The Terriers are without their two top scorers from last year as junior guard Cedric Hankerson is sidelined with a torn ACL and junior guard Eric Fanning is serving an indefinite game-suspension. Those two players averaged 15.9 and 12.3 points per game last season, respectively.
Not only did Foreman help fill the scoring void, but he also gave the Terriers a confident ball-handler for the first time since Maurice Watson Jr. transferred to Creighton University two years ago.
“When you have a point guard like Kyle giving me the ball, last year I didn’t really have that, so I was just making my shots because my teammates gave me confidence,” said sophomore guard Cheddi Mosely, who led the Terriers with 19 points.
Mosely also spent time at the point last season, but as Jones points out, he serves a better purpose on the wing.
“Not having a point guard and [sophomore guard] Eric Johnson getting hurt really really hurt us last year,” Jones said. “So Eric Johnson coming back and Kyle Foreman allows other guys like Cheddi and [senior guard] John [Papale] to be more aggressive off the ball and then Kyle was open to make plays at the rim.”
Papale and Mosely were not the only aggressors, as Foreman took an elbow from Huskies guard Zach Stahl with about 16:30 left in the game that drew blood from his nose. He played with a gauze insert for the rest of the game.
“He got me pretty good but they got me out quick so it should be fine, just a little bruise,” Foreman said.
The Clyde Hill, Washington, native was an All-State Second Team player and the sixth best player coming out of the state, according to ESPN.
Foreman finished 6-for-8 from the field and hit a pair of free throws.
Jones had no shortage of praise for the freshman.
“He’s one of those guys that, you look at him and you don’t think that he can go, but that kid can play,” Jones said. “He’s got great feel for the game. He’s a tough kid. I don’t think people respect [his shooting abilities], but they’ll grow to respect it.”
Going forward, it will be key to watch the development of Foreman when Hankerson returns from his ACL injury, expected within the next month, and if Fanning comes back. Both players need touches, but with the way the Terriers offense flowed against the Huskies, there may not be enough for all three guards.
BU piled up 21 assists compared to nine turnovers vs. Northeastern, a 2.33 assist-to-turnover ratio, which could be crucial in the upcoming season.
Foreman will have a sizeable impact on BU’s passing game as his freshman campaign progresses, but for him the game is the same speed as always.
“Obviously the nerves built up before the game, but the guys are a little bigger, a little faster,” Foreman said, “but I’ve been playing this sport since I was four, so it’s the same game to me.”
