Day in the Life - Shan Foster

FOX 17 News – By: John Dunn

He’s arguably one of the best college basketball players in the country, but Vanderbilt’s MVP is much more than just a deadly shooter.

The 6’6” senior is truly a man of many talents.

This is the Shan Foster most people know.

#32 for the Vanderbilt Commodores. He’s the team’s most valuable player, and leading scorer.

But off the court, at Vanderbilt, academics come first, and it’s no different for star athletes.

"And what do you think is going to happen? Let's make our hypothesis," says Foster’s teacher.

Shan Foster’s day begins with biology class, taking notes, and following along inside a large lecture hall.

Class is about an hour long.

Foster is easy to pick out on campus. He’s a head taller than anyone else, even teammate Alex Gordon.

Despite being a senior, he’s still enjoying the college experience.

"I'm a big people person, I like being around people. So here I'm in the middle of all the students, and there's a lot going on," says Foster.

Shan lives on campus and spends most of this time here. His next stop is a familiar one…the weight room.

Athletes like Shan follow a strict schedule.

Today, he and lifting partner Ross Neltner are focusing on upper body strength.

They quickly circulate between exercises. The music overhead keeps them motivated and in the groove.

Once Shan finishes his workout, he meets briefly with his academic counselor, who makes sure he’s staying on track with his studies.

Then it’s back on the road. As we learned, Foster is always on the go.

"The hardest part is just time management," says Foster.

After four years at Vanderbilt, Foster has learned to balance his schedule between school, basketball, and time for himself.

And that’s what brings us to the piano.

Shan calls this his outlet…a time to get away from it all.

"I basically have an ear for it, like if I hear something, then I can play it," says Foster.

There’s no question, Foster is a talented musician.

"Amazing Grace," sings Foster.

And if that wasn’t enough, he can sing too.

"That saved a wretch like me," continues Foster.

Foster has a deep faith in God and says he most enjoys playing gospel music.

Of course, playing piano, is just one of his passions.

To see his true love, we head to Memorial Gym.

Although there’s no practice, Shan still has a job to do.

He must shoot 100 free throws. He’s trying to improve his season percentage.

Out of 100 shots, he makes 94 of them.

But Shan is always working to get better.

"Put in a lot of hard work, and being blessed is the biggest part of it," says Foster.

Amazingly, he has only been playing organized basketball since 7th grade, and he only started shooting three pointers five years ago.

"How I do it, I don't know, but I'm glad it goes in," says Foster.

Although he can make a basket from anywhere, his favorite spot is on the wing.

"It seems short from here for some reason, I don't know why," says Foster.

Shan has spent countless hours like this in the gym, and now it’s paying off.

But don’t look for him to be satisfied yet, this competitor has his eyes on a Championship.

Shan Foster says it’s always tough to play on the road in the SEC, but he says the hardest places to play are at Tennessee, followed by Kentucky, and then Arkansas.

Although many believe he’ll play in the NBA next year, Shan Foster says his focus is on winning more games at Vanderbilt.