South Georgia - In The Game High School Sports Magazine

Last season, the Valdosta High School women’s basketball program made a strong statement. After two years of not making the playoffs, the Lady Wildcats won 18 regular season games and caught fire in the postseason, advancing to the Sweet Sixteen. The team had good senior leadership, a renewed purpose, and the ladies played with a sense of urgency all season. That Valdosta had then-junior center Sierra Foster in the paint didn’t hurt, either.

Foster, a 6’2” center, developed into an excellent basketball player during the 2010-2011 season. She has always had the raw talent to be a dominant player, but she finally came into her own last year. It’s been a long journey for Foster. She has been playing basketball since she joined her first Boys and Girls Club team at four years old, and she worked up the ranks of the Valdosta school system and earned a spot on the Lady ‘Cats varsity team as a ninth-grader. She didn’t get much playing time as a freshman, but she spent some time on the floor in certain situations. As her skills improved, so did those of her teammates, culminating with a Sweet Sixteen appearance her junior year. “We were more of a team last year. We played well together and we worked hard as a team,” she recalls.

Every good athlete wants to evolve as a player from one season to the next. Foster and the rest of the returning Lady Wildcats tasted a little success in 2011, and she would like to build upon that success this season. Her goals aren’t very specific, but as she relates them, one can detect an intense desire to improve and continue to grow at her position. “I want to improve on my statistics from last year,” she says.

That process is well underway. Her coach, Edward Wilcox, has seen tremendous improvement in the short time he has been her coach. Wilcox became the Lady Wildcats head coach before Foster’s sophomore year. He has seen Foster transform into one of the best players in the region. “Her improvement has been phenomenal. She is in great shape, and she’s developed a great shot. She has good post moves, and she knows the paint,” he says.

Having good size is but one part of being a good center. Foster is definitely big enough to be a force under the basket, but without the requisite athleticism, she would be nothing more than a big kid who takes up space in the paint. Fortunately for Wilcox and the rest of the Lady ‘Cats, that isn’t how Foster plays. She has the height, but she also has much, much more. Many centers lack the ability to shoot from the outside, but Foster can shoot from anywhere on the court, and she has quickly become one of the best shooters for the Lady Wildcats. Foster also has good footwork, and she knows how to establish position under the basket. She can rebound, block shots and move the ball around the court. And when it’s time for her to score, she can definitely put the ball in the basket. Over the course of her career, Foster’s scoring average has improved about one point per game per year. Last season, she averaged six points per game.

“When I’m on the floor, I want to be productive in the post and play hard each time up and down the court,” she says. “Being productive means making it easier for everyone else. If I do my job, opportunities open up for the guards. They can drive the basket or get the ball to open teammates.”

Foster has been very productive in Valdosta’s first two regular-season games - she scored 11 points in the first game and 10 in the second, and the Lady ‘Cats won both games.

Foster has played for several different AAU teams, most recently the Mid-South Dream Team out of Macon. The Dream Team traveled as far away as North Carolina for tournaments, and competed favorably each time they took the floor. For players looking for college exposure, playing in the AAU ranks is almost a necessity. College scouts come to high school games occasionally, but the college season also takes place while the high school season is underway. As such, it can be hard for college coaches to recruit during the season, so they patrol the AAU tournaments in the offseason, looking for talent. Playing AAU ball exposes athletes to the best competition in the country, and also gets them in front of college coaches on a regular basis. That’s one of the attractions to AAU basketball for Foster; she has always wanted to play college basketball, and it looks like she’s going to have an opportunity to do just that.

“I’ve always felt like I would be able to play in college. I really began thinking about it after my eighth-grade season,” she says. Foster currently has two offers on the table, from Santa Fe Community College in Gainesville, Florida, and from Georgia College and State University in Milledgeville. She won’t make a decision until after the season, and she hopes bigger schools will show interest. Wilcox definitely believes she will have an opportunity to play in a larger program. “I think she’s a mid-level Division I player. She should get some looks from bigger schools. She’s the total package at 6’1”,” he says.

College is about more than just basketball for Foster. She will definitely have a future in the sport beyond high school, but she will also seek a college at which she can receive the best education possible. Throughout her years in school, Foster has paid close attention to her grades, and she’s never let her academics slip. “I don’t think about making time for my grades. I just make sure I do my homework after practice. It’s a routine I’m used to,” she says. When she reached high school, it really hit home just how important her grades would be. Her parents were there motivating her through middle school. In high school, she began to see the big picture and took responsibility for her own academic destiny. “I knew I would have more opportunities to get in college if my grades were good. It will also make doing well in college that much easier,” she says.

One of Foster’s favorite subjects is human anatomy, a course that will serve her well when she finally makes a choice about college. Her goal is to become a physical therapist and work with a team at a high level of sport. “I love athletes and athletics, and I’d like to stay close to sports,” she says.

Foster has a number of important decisions to make in the coming months. Added to the mix is the 2011-2012 basketball season. She must stay on task in the classroom, ponder her potential college choices and help lead the Lady Wildcats to what she and her teammates hope will be a region championship and a long run through the playoffs. It’s going to be a hectic and challenging second semester, but it’s one for which Foster is ready. “She has great grades, very good SATs and is a dominant player,” says Wilcox. That sounds a lot like the total package, doesn’t it?