Ohio State Women's Basketball

Jim Foster may well get less respect per victory than any coach in women’s basketball. Despite winning more games than at least 95% of the people coaching in the game, he is routinely second-guessed and disrespected.

Anyone who doesn’t understand why, need only look at his 2005-06 Buckeye team. The team showcased several patterns that he has established over the years. The team also underachieved. Those two facts are likely not unrelated. His team had an exceptional won-loss record and won both the regular season and the post-season Big 10 Championship. But they bombed in the NCAA tournament and always gave the sense that they were not quite as good as they should have been.

Foster is an excellent recruiter who can bring in talented players. He fits the players into a system that he has developed over the years. His system is a disciplined offense and defense. It wins a lot of games. But he does not appear to be using the athleticism he has to its best advantage.

He is a coach who has always had strong post players. In Jessica Davenport, he has one of the nation’s best. She is the focal point of the offense and the offense uses her well. She is allowed to be a dominant as she can. It’s the perimeter players who do not appear to be used to best effect. They really are not allowed to create their own shots as often as they are capable of. The Buckeyes are a potent offensive team. But when they face a team that can contain Davenport, they struggle more than they have to. They don’t look to fast-break much and they should be able to get easy points that way.

Defensively the situation is similar. OSU is a very strong defensive team. Davenport dominates the area near the basket. The perimeter defense is strong and aggressive. Again, it just doesn’t seem like Foster uses his athletes to their best advantage. His team looks to be built to press, but they don’t do it often. They should be able to switch defenses frequently and trap with great effectiveness, but they don’t do it much.

Foster also rarely plays a challenging non-conference schedule. It’s hard to see how a schedule that includes Nicholls State, Western Illinois, Dayton, Sacred Heart, Canisius and Wright State prepares a team for a Big 10 season and a long NCAA run. They did play some good teams, but they play too many cupcakes.

Make no mistake Jim Foster is a very good coach who has earned every one of his many wins. But too often, his teams leave observers asking “What if.”

Return to the Ohio State main page

Return to the Big 10 main page