Caleb Foster arrived in Durham as a lifelong Blue Devil fan and one of four composite five-star talents in a 2023 Duke basketball recruiting haul that ranked No. 2 in the country. Over three years later, the 6-foot-5, 200-pound guard from Harrisburg, N.C., is the only member of that class still in town .
In fact, it's been that way since the offseason following their freshman campaign, in which the 2023-24 Blue Devils reached the Elite Eight. Fellow guard Jared McCain turned pro early while forwards Sean Stewart and TJ Power both entered the transfer portal.
Evidently, though, the friendships between Foster, McCain, Stewart, and Power remain strong. As for McCain, now averaging over 10 points per game in his second season as a sharpshooting guard with the Oklahoma City Thunder, recently showed up to support Foster during the Duke senior's photoshoot for his prestigous SLAMU digital cover, officially released to the public on Wednesday.
"This is where we started at," Foster noted in the above videos while standing next to McCain, who had just arrived to "crash" the shoot. "We talk often."
There's no doubt Foster is one of McCain's biggest fans.
"I went to his first playoff game [last season]," Foster said about McCain. "It was just so emotional because my boy was actually out there doing it. And it's like, he's out there playing with LeBron [James]. I was geeked. I was over there hollering. It made me want to go harder and get in the gym.
"And his brother, Jayce [McCain], is here; he's my player development coach. Anytime I call, want to get in the gym, Jayce is there...I've got love for the McCain family. I feel like they're my family at this point."
The feeling is clearly mutual, evidenced by McCain's giant smile at the photoshoot and comments about Foster.
"It's my guy since one of those USA camps or something," McCain explained about Foster. "But man, this is my brother right here...He came into our ['Freshman Four' group chat] and said, 'Yo, I'm about to be on a SLAM cover.' I was like, 'What?'
"And so, it's awesome to see. I was listening to the whole interview back there. Yeah, man, just a good dude. Just a great dude right here."
As a full-time starter in the Duke basketball backcourt last season for a Blue Devil collection that finished 35-3 and reached the Elite Eight, Caleb Foster averaged career-highs across the board with his 8.3 rebounds, 3.5 rebounds, and 2.8 assists per outing.
A foot fracture, which he sustained in the regular season finale home win over the archrival UNC Tar Heels, kept him out of commission for the championship run at the ACC Tournament and the team's first two games in the NCAA Tournament. However, Foster heroically returned from injury just in time to provide a huge lift off the bench in Duke's Sweet 16 victory over the St. John's Red Storm.
This preseason, the 22-year-old Foster missed two-thirds of the No. 2-ranked Blue Devils' exhibition slate while recovering from a minor ankle injury.
Thus far, he hasn't worked his way back into a starting job. In Duke's 84-50 season opener home win over the Army Black Knights on Monday night, he tallied four points and one rebound acrosss his 20 minutes off the bench, shooting 2-for-6 from the field and 0-for-3 beyond the arc.
Foster and the talent-rich Blue Devil squad are now preparing to host the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers in Cameron Indoor Stadium at 8 p.m. ET Thursday (ACC Network).
This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/duke as Beloved Duke Basketball One-And-Done Crashes Caleb Foster's Photoshoot .
