Jackets get boost from walk-on Foreman

Coach Paul Hewitt compared it to finding gold in the street.

How else would you describe getting clutch plays, sticky defense and nearly 16 minutes a game from a freshman walk-on?

Nick Foreman, Hewitt’s gold, chose Georgia Tech for its biomedical engineering program. He’s on his way to med school, not the NBA.

“Basketball is just a plus,” he said.

As the Jackets (9-5, 0-1) begin a stretch of 15 ACC games Saturday at Maryland, Foreman is filling a much bigger role than walk-ons usually do.

The 6-3, 197-pound agitator out of Bellaire, Texas, has become integral to Tech’s pressure defense. And maintaining that aggressiveness is the Jackets’ best hope to do well in the ACC.

Foreman learned the game from his dad, Willie Foreman, who played and coached at Texas A&M. Willie “Skyy” Foreman also entertained as a Harlem Globetrotter from 1978-83.

Starting when he was 7, Foreman soaked up his dad’s tricks: the self-pass, how to spin the ball on his finger, roll it up his arm across his back, make it sit between his shoulder blades.

Foreman doesn’t show off for teammates — he’s trying to prove he belongs.

His game is all about fundamentals: in 220 minutes, he has committed two turnovers.

“He’s a really, really smart basketball player,” Hewitt said. “You just don’t expect a walk-on to come into your program and be that sound defensively and that tough.”

Foreman has made an impact in Tech’s biggest wins. In the 63-51 win over Vanderbilt, he grabbed five rebounds and made two steals in 22 minutes.

In the 67-62 win over Georgia last Tuesday, Foreman’s 19th birthday, he hounded point guard Zac Swansey into a backcourt violation with the game tied late.

“I was just hoping I could make him unsure of himself a little bit, and he jumped back,” Foreman said.

With Tech ahead 64-62 and 13 seconds to go, the Bulldogs had to decide who to foul. They wasted no time putting the walk-on at the line.

Foreman made the first, missed the second.

“I had no doubt he was going to make at least one,” Hewitt said. “He’s just one of those kids who is tough mentally.”

Of course there were nerves, Foreman said, but he took it as a challenge. He’s 10 of 16 on free throws this season.

And while he’s not out there to score, he’ll take open shots. Foreman scored eight points on 3-of-4 shooting in the loss to Illinois-Chicago.

Visiting Tech last spring, Foreman gave his highlight tape to assistant coach Peter Zaharis. Coaches watched him at a summer AAU tournament and liked what they saw. But in the individual instruction period this fall, Foreman did not impress.

“He had played the four in high school, so he didn’t dribble much and his outside shot didn’t look really good at all,” Hewitt said. “But when we started practice you could see he was a good athlete with very good instincts defensively.”

Foreman’s minutes might decrease as point guard Moe Miller (nasal fracture) works his way back into the lineup.

But Hewitt envisions an eventual bigger role for Foreman.

Discussing the first half of the season, Foreman couldn’t stop smiling.

“I didn’t think I’d get this much [playing time],” he said. “I thought I was going to get in for a couple seconds, maybe a minute or two, and then I’d just try to play my hardest.”