By Sam Blackman<\/p>\n
With the news of Bill Foster\u2019s death on Wednesday, (May 27, 2015) the memories of some of Clemson greatest basketball victories soon come to mind.<\/p>\n
Foster passed away in Charlotte, North Carolina, after a long battle with Parkinson\u2019s Disease. He was 79.<\/p>\n
He was known as a program builder and he continued his forte at Clemson after he guided UNC Charlotte to an 87-39 record in five years.\u00a0\u00a0 What also comes to mind was his ability to build quality citizens.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was much bigger than basketball,\u201d said Bobby Conrad in a recent interview.\u00a0 Conrad played point guard under Foster from 1976-80. \u201cYou could be a Division I ACC player under him, and still have a life outside of basketball, and a lot of us really appreciated that.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was all about teaching life lessons and was very much excited about seeing his players succeed in life. Coach Foster was a very influential, very impactful person in the lives of all of his players,\u201d said Conrad.<\/p>\n
Conrad is now a federal judge in the state of North Carolina.<\/p>\n
Bill Foster’s first season at Clemson was in 1975-76, and during that season, he led the Tigers to consecutive road wins over fifth-ranked Wake Forest and second-ranked Maryland.\u00a0 Greg Coles\u2019 behind the back shot from 15 feet away contributed to the win at Maryland and thus started one of the best runs in Clemson basketball history.<\/p>\n
In 1977, Tree Rollins added to the program\u2019s fortunes when he was chosen third-team Associated Press All-American and was the 14th<\/sup> overall pick by the Atlanta Hawks in the NBA draft.\u00a0 Rollins had his number 30 retired before his last home game.\u00a0 The team was ranked as high as 10th<\/sup> in the country that year, the highest ranking achieved by a Clemson team at the time.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Tigers won 22 games to set a Clemson record, and was the first Tiger team to win at least 20 games in a season.\u00a0 Then, in 1979, the Tigers were chosen for the NIT and went to Rupp Arena and beat Kentucky 68-67, in overtime.<\/p>\n In 1980, Bill Foster’s team was selected to the NCAA Tournament for the first time ever and advanced to the finals of the Western Regional.\u00a0 Clemson reached a high ranking of 10th at one junction of the season.\u00a0 The Tigers also defeated six top-20 teams over the course of the season, including fourth-ranked UNC and top-ranked Duke in the same week.\u00a0 It was Clemson’s first win over a #1 ranked team in basketball.<\/p>\n Billy Williams was a Helms Foundation All-American and first team All-ACC.\u00a0 Bobby Conrad was named the ACC\u2019s Student-Athlete of the Year (Jim Weaver Award) and recipient of the Norris Medal (Clemson\u2019s Outstanding Student).<\/p>\n Though it was their first time in the NCAA Tournament, the Tigers\u2019 run to the Elite Eight that year is still the deepest any Clemson team has advanced in the national tournament. That year, Clemson knocked off Utah State and then a Danny Ainge-led BYU team to reach the Sweet 16.<\/p>\n The Tigers then knocked off Lamar, 74-66, to advance to the Elite Eight and West Regional Final, where UCLA beat the Tigers, 85-74, to end the season. Clemson closed the year with a 23-9 record. The 23 wins at the time were the most for any Clemson team in history.<\/p>\n The Tigers went 20-11 in 1981, and afterwards, the Phoenix Suns chose Larry Nance in the first round of NBA Draft. \u00a0The Tigers won the Rainbow Classic in Hawaii and beat eventual National Champion Indiana in the process on the way to a 12-1 start.<\/p>\n In 1983-84, Bill Foster coached his final season at Clemson.\u00a0 The Tigers ran to an 11-2 start, including a 72-71 win over South Carolina and a 66-61 overtime victory over Marquette.\u00a0 Clemson then defeated defending NCAA Champion NC State by 63-61 on January 9th, followed by a victory over a Mark Price-led Georgia Tech team.\u00a0 But the Tigers lost 12 of their last 15 games and the Foster era ended with a 14-14 mark.<\/p>\n When Foster resigned from Clemson, Vince Hamilton, who averaged 14.2 ppg. in his junior season, was saddened when Foster left Tigertown.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cHe did more that coach us in basketball,\u201d said Hamilton in a 1984 interview.\u00a0 \u201cHe really stressed to us to take advantage of the academic opportunities we had, and he was interested in us as people.\u00a0 He was as much a father-type guy as a basketball coach and I\u2019ll miss him.\u201d<\/p>\n In his nine years at Clemson, Foster had only one losing season, while posting a 156-106 record. He is second in Clemson history in the number of wins and posted 16 wins against top-20 teams.\u00a0 He carried the Tigers to three NITs and one NCAA Tournament.<\/p>\n After he left Clemson, he continued his coaching career and helped restart the University of Miami basketball program. He posted a 78-71 record with the Hurricanes in five years.\u00a0\u00a0 In six seasons between 1991-97 Foster coached Virginia Tech to a 101-78 record and led the Hokies to the NIT championship in 1994-95.\u00a0 He guided Virginia Tech to the second round of the NCAA Tournament the next season.\u00a0 Foster retired after the 1996-97 season.\u00a0 In his 30 years of coaching at five different schools he compiled a record of 532-325.<\/p>\n \u00a0In 2001, he was inducted into the Clemson Athletic Hall of Fame.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n “It was a great ride and wonderful experience to coach players who went on to play in the NBA. Foster said in an earlier interview.\u00a0 \u201cOf course the wins are fun, but, I take just as much pride in my former players who went on to be successful in other areas.<\/p>\n \u201cThe players and their development as people are what it\u2019s all about. It\u2019s fun watching kids excel.\u201d<\/p>\n