By Andy Lohman

Jarrey Foster didn't get to have a proper Senior Day in high school. Having torn his ACL, the athletic and versatile guard had to sit out the season and the final home game of his prep career. Unfortunately, the adversity didn't stop there.

After playing in all 30 games and averaging 4.9 points per game for SMU men's basketball his freshman year, Foster stepped into a more prominent role the next season. The Houston native averaged 9.9 points and 5.2 rebounds as a starter on SMU's 2016-17 American Athletic Conference championship team.

As the Mustangs entered conference play during his junior year, Foster tore his ACL again, forcing him to miss 10 months of basketball. He worked tirelessly to rehab and get back on the court, and had an immediate impact on the Mustangs once he did. In a 10-game span with Foster in the lineup from Nov. 27-Jan. 12, SMU went 8-2 with a marked improvement in both offensive and defensive field goal percentage.

But adversity struck once again this season. Early in the first half against Houston on Jan. 16, Foster landed awkwardly after competing for a rebound, reinjuring his knee. No ligaments were torn, yet the injury kept him out of action for 10 more games. A third major injury would be devastating for any athlete, but the single-minded Foster knew that he was going to play on SMU's Senior Day on March 3 against Wichita State no matter what.

"I knew a week ago, when my whole mindset changed. I said I will play on Sunday, no matter what happens," Foster said in the postgame press conference. "I've been working my behind off for four years, and I wanted to be here and play one more time in front of the fans and my family and the people that supported me."

To see their teammate and friend back on the court was a highlight for the rest of the seniors as well.

"I'm just glad my boy's out here," senior guard Nat Dixon said of Foster's return. "He fought through so much tough stuff in his life. For him to be out there is a blessing."

"Just to see him back out there was fun enough for me," senior guard Jahmal McMurray said. "I'm glad I get to play this game with people I enjoy playing it with."

"Probably the best gift I had was getting to play with Jarrey, getting to see him out there again," senior guard James Pyle said. "I was on the team with him a couple years ago and to piggyback off what these guys have said, he's gone through a lot and he's overcome it."

Of course, while the senior class holds a huge amount of respect and appreciation for Foster's return, each member has their own unique story that culminated in a Senior Day celebration.

Dixon and McMurray both transferred to SMU after circuitous journeys through the college athletics world. McMurray, a USF transfer originally from Topeka, Kansas, was happy to share the moment with his teammates.

"I'm just happy to have this moment. Growing up, I never looked at this a moment that was going to happen in my life," McMurray said. "I'm just happy to be around the guys I'm around every day."

Dixon, a Florida native who spent his freshman year playing football at Boston College before transferring to East Mississippi Community College and later Chattanooga to restart his basketball career, echoed the importance of his teammates in his experience.

"They accepted me with open arms," Dixon said. "There wasn't a day I didn't feel like I was loved. These boys are like my family. I'm just happy that I'm here with them, win and loss, I'm with them through it all."

Pyle, a walk-on guard, didn't know that he would get his first career start until after Saturday's practice. After a strong ovation from the crowd during lineup introductions, Pyle got two good shots off in the opening minutes, but both barely rimmed out.

"It's a rush. It's pretty cool." Pyle said of getting his first collegiate start. "I wish I would've gotten one of those shots to fall, they both looked good. I thought they were both going in coming out of my hand. It was funny, the coaching staff was in my ear, 'you better shoot the ball, first time you touch it shoot the ball.'"

With a shorthanded roster, Pyle was a crucial part of the Mustangs program throughout his career, pushing all of the scholarship players daily in practice.

"He comes to work every day. People don't realize, this is a D-I hooper right here," Dixon said as Foster and McMurray nodded in agreement. "This man deserves a scholarship, he plays every day."

Despite a tough loss to the Shockers in which SMU was missing point guard Jimmy Whitt Jr., the overall feeling from the Mustangs in the postgame press conference was one of gratitude for their time on the Hilltop.

"When you're winning games, it's all fun and games, it's all happiness. But when you're going through things, and you have to overcome things, things aren't always going your way, those are the times I cherish because that's when you learn, that's when you grow. That's when you have to come together with the guys next to you," Foster said. "Just getting a chance to play basketball with these guys, that's what really matters to me."