City of Basketball Love

Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
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NEWTOWN SQUARE — It was a tough night for Langston Foster. An unfamiliar setting for the Episcopal Academy junior, thrust into action in a hostile environment. 

“It was tough, it was tough,” he admitted. “They asked me to step in, I was like absolutely, I’ll do it […] it was definitely different.”

Yeah, Foster found out that serving as a CYO referee is no easy task, even to someone who’s been playing basketball as far back as he can remember. Sports parents are sports parents, no matter the age, and he heard from a couple of them.

“They were like ‘make the call,’” he said, with little extra emphasis on those words. 

A little extra sympathy now, for the refs? 

“When you (play) and you’re like, ‘the ref missed the call’ [...] (now) I see how they could miss one,” he said, agreeing the experience is likely to make him “a little less tough on them.”

Foster’s actual on-court debut with Episcopal went a little bit smoother, as he contributed nine points to a 66-47 non-league win over Abington Friends on Tuesday afternoon.

A 6-foot-3, 165-pound wing guard, Foster came to EA this offseason from Lower Merion, where he served as a reserve for the Aces as a sophomore, getting a few valuable minutes playing alongside Sam Brown (Penn) and company, even if he wasn’t a featured piece. He also came off the bench in his first game with EA, the Churchmen lineup featuring three seniors, a reclassified junior and a 6-7 sophomore in Timmy Dennis.

Foster didn’t waste much time making his mark for EA once he got in, knocking down a 3-pointer from the left wing; playing about half the game, he finished with nine points on 4-5 shooting (1-1 3PT), with four rebounds and an assist. It was a successful debut no doubt, especially considering the team’s got less than five full practice under its belt. 

“[We’ve had] only a couple practices, we just started last week,” he said. “We’re just putting stuff in, still, getting used to each other.

“It’s been great, been in the gym, working, getting used to the plays, getting used to the guys. It’s been a great time for sure, just adapting to it,” he added. 

The oldest son of Keith and Lisa Foster and named for famed Harlem Renaissance poet and novelist Langston Hughes, Foster doesn’t have to be a big-time scorer this year for the Churchmen (1-0), who have hopes of climbing up the Inter-Ac standings after coming in last a year ago. 

West Point commit Kevin McCarthy, who poured in a game-high 28 points to lead the way Tuesday, will often take that mantle, the 6-3 guard one of the best shooters around. Fellow senior Tyler Beaulieu, a returning starter, and Archmere Academy (Del.) transfer Matt McCarthy, a reclassified junior, took the other two backcourt spots.

Foster and sophomore wing Reggie King both came in early against Abington Friends, getting plenty of run in the win, clearly the top two bench options for head coach Taylor Wright.

“It feels great, just being comfortable early, feeling comfortable early,” Foster said. “Just having the mindset coming off the bench, bringing energy, playing hard, and seeing the shot go down is a bonus, getting it going scoring-wise.”

“I got a lot of work in with Langston this summer and especially this fall, so he’s grown a ton ever since the fall,” Kevin McCarthy said. “He’s been looking good from the start, but he’ll continue to improve.”

It was a close game early, AFS junior wing Zamir Parker-Barnes (14 points) helping his team stay within 15-13 at the end of the first quarter. But McCarthy heated up in the second, hitting five of his six shots in the frame including three 3s as the Churchmen took the period 24-6, opening up a 20-point halftime lead.

That was all the edge the hosts needed; Abington Friends never got closer than 12 the rest of the way, Wright able to go to his bench for a good portion of the fourth quarter. Episcopal’s got another five weeks or so to get ready for the 10-team round-robin Inter-Ac slate, and developing that quality depth — Foster included — is critical for their overall improvement.

“Long season, it takes everybody,” Wright said. “Having a lot of guys that we can trust is huge for us and it’s a great thing as a coach to look down that bench and know you trust anybody you can put in the game.”

By Quarter
EA:   15  |  24  |  16  |  11  ||  66
AFS: 13  |   6   |  17  |  11  ||  47

Shooting
EA: 28-56 FG (9-27 3PT), 1-2 FT
AFS: 19-46 FG (5-17 3PT), 4-10 FT

Scoring
EA: Kevin McCarthy 28, Langston Foster 9, Timmy Dennis 9, Tyler Beaulieu 7, Calvin Szoradi 6, Murilo Pereira 3

AFS: Zamir Parker-Barnes 14, Kaydin Ford 9, Kamani Healey 6, Ethan Hodnett-Bell 6, Jason Green 4, Namisse Musonge 3, Jake Scherzer 3, Jared Shanken 2