Willie Foreman III puts his spare time to use
It hasn’t been a glorious summer for Willie Foreman III in terms of basketball.
He wasn’t on any AAU team over the summer that played in the Peach Jam, Peach Invitational, or Adidas Tournament in New York City.
So what has Foreman been up to over the summer, while kids such as Alden Applewhite and Kaeden Laws – two prospects in the same class as Foreman – were spending their summer playing in front of college coaches, improving their chances of getting Division 1 offers?
He’s been in the gym working on his jump shot and ball handling.
Foreman hasn’t forgotten about being overlooked for an invite to the Memphis Elite Camp back in June. He hasn’t overlooked the offers his peers are getting right underneath his chin. Foreman has a D1 body, but has to improve on the offensive end in order to get the D1 offers he’s hoping for.
“I just got pumped up. I, all of a sudden, got determined,” Foreman said about not being invited to the camp. “I know I will get called up the next time there’s one. I got pumped up, started playing better and working out more. I have been lifting weights, because I really wasn’t lifting weights at first. I had to start conditioning better.
“And I go to the gym every day, twice a day.”
Standing at 6-foot-4, weighing 175-pounds, Foreman will be the tallest forward for White Station High School next season when his sophomore season starts. He has the potential to be the Spartans’ best player moving forward. Foreman has an eye for rebounding. In the Jerry Peters Memphis Summer Classic, he finished with 28 rebounds. Foreman scored 47 points and dished out 10 assists.
His best performance came against Houston, where he had 13 points and eight rebounds.
Outside of his shooting and ball handling, Foreman will also need to improve on his free throw shooting. He went just 5 for 20 from the charity stripe in the classic. Foreman’s sophomore season could be a defining moment for him as he will looked upon by family members and White Station’s coaching staff to be a vocal leader.
Foreman’s chandelier moment needs to start now.
“Everybody has been talking about that, talking about how I need to be a leader,” said Foreman, who feels he’s shooting the ball better from mid-range and the 3-point line. “Everybody says they see it in me, so I just need to show everybody.”
The Spartans will have a competitive team with Foreman and guard Brandon Brown in the backcourt playing alongside one another. Brown can score from different areas of the court, and will likely lead the team in scoring next season. In the classic, Brown had 111 points, 47 rebounds, and seven assists. He was efficient at the free throw line, converting on 24 of 29 attempts.
If Foreman becomes a solid No. 2 scoring option alongside Brown, White Station’s backcourt could be difficult to stop for opposing teams in its district next season.