Iowa basketball: Hawks make short list of top in-state recruit

The Iowa basketball team got a jolt of good (and mostly expected) news when they made the top-5 list of four-star recruit Xavier Foster.

Fran McCaffery and the Iowa basketball team’s coaching staff have been hard at work on Oskaloosa, Iowa product Xavier Foster for some time, and today they got good news when the four-star forward announced his top-five list.

Foster is one of the most highly touted recruits in the nation and is listed as the 40th overall player in the nation according to Rivals. At 7’0” and 225 pounds, he would provide an immediate presence in the paint that would make any college program salivate, including the Iowa basketball team.

A commitment by Foster would give Fran McCaffery his highest-ranked commitment since he took over the Iowa basketball team so this is no small feat to be in the top-5.

In addition to the Iowa basketball team was Iowa State, Baylor, Providence, and Virginia Tech.

I’ll be honest, I was confused by this list a bit. There are no “major” programs like a Kentucky, Kansas, or UCLA, the latter two of which offered Foster a scholarship.

To me, that is a good thing for the Iowa basketball team. It means the criteria Foster is using to evaluate his decision actually probably helps the Hawks. He’s clearly not looking for a national powerhouse (although Virginia Tech and Iowa State have been pretty good historically). The location also doesn’t seem to be as important as he eliminated Creighton, Illinois, and Missouri when announcing this top-5.

This leads me to believe this is a relationship-based and a basketball fit-based decision (as it should be), which is why I think the Iowa basketball team should still be considered the front-runner.

Relationship-wise, no team has been more active in recruiting Foster than the Hawks, who have made him the focal point of their 2020 class. Fit-wise, he seems to be a more developed version of Luka Garza. Foster is tall, athletic, and able to stretch the defense with a 3-point shot, and that would fit in perfectly with the Hawks.

Projecting out ahead, Iowa could head into the 2020-2021 season without star wing Joe Wieskamp and center Luka Garza, which would mean Foster would be in line for big minutes. If Wieskamp and Garza do return, this Hawkeye team (especially if Bohannon sits out a year) could be the most talented team Fran has ever assembled.

Obviously, we are a long way out here, but this news is exciting and evokes dreams of what could be in a year or so. Now, Fran just needs to secure the deal.