FREE: Jarrey Foster has mind-blowing official visit to SMU

When Larry Brown was first hired by SMU and was asked how he would sell recruits on his new school, he told the press that if he could get a kid to the Hilltop to see the campus, he would take his chances with that recruit.

The campus was one of the big things that three-star shooting guard Jarrey Foster liked when he took an official visit to SMU this past weekend.

"The campus was beautiful. Before I went to visit people were telling me that the campus was nice but to see it for yourself, it's beautiful," Foster told PonyPride. "It's so calm, not too big, not too small. It's a perfect-sized campus. It's a good place to stay four years."

Foster and his mother got a tour of campus from SMU assistant Ulric Maligi, who has been the primary recruiter for Foster. The 6-foot-4, 180-pound North Shore senior loved what he saw from the basketball facilities.

"It was mind-blowing. First, with Moody Coliseum, coach Maligi said that it would be full and then with the lights turned down like Madison Square Garden. That's what I like; the Moody Coliseum was on point," Foster said. "The training room, the weight room, and the basketball practice gym, it was really nice."

Foster and his mom got a chance to sit down with Larry Brown while on campus.

"We talked about a couple things. He expressed that he wanted me here. He was like, as you know they're going to recruit other guys but he wants me here as much as he wants anybody else," Foster said. "It was good for me to hear that from coach Brown himself."

"It boosts your confidence a little bit more, just knowing that this man has won a championship on basically every level and coached a lot of good players, and knowing that you could be one of them? It's mind-blowing, that you would be in this situation. But now that I am, I can walk with my chest out, I can walk around school and all that because I'm getting recruited by legend."

Foster also got to know the players both through his player host, Jordan Tolbert, and watching SMU's practices.

"(Tolbert) told me everything. He told me how great it was to play for coach Brown and the opportunities I could have. He was telling me more about the players and how the program was going and where they can go next year and the year after that so it was great to hear from him. Watching them practice, it was very competitive. And I like to compete. When they're on the court, they're competitive and when they're off the court, they're like brothers. So it's a great environment. I liked it a lot."

Foster, who wants to study mechanical or civil engineering in college, got an introduction to the Lyle School of Engineering while on campus.

"It was great. The sit-down talk with dean (Marc) Christensen, he was saying the class sizes weren't so big. Most bigger schools, you never get the chance to do hands-on things. You won't get as much time with your professor as with SMU because the class sizes are much smaller and you get more time to do more hands-on things," Foster said. "And that was a plus to me because I will able to learn more and understand more with my class sizes. That was a good thing to hear."

Foster recently decommitted from Rice and has since picked up offers from SMU and Louisiana-Lafayette, whom he will visit this upcoming weekend. Baylor, Texas, Texas A&M and Bowling Green have reached out as well but have not offered.

Foster injured his ACL during AAU season but will start practicing again in December before his expected return from the injury in January.