From 0-14 to start last season, to 5-4 the final nine games of last season, including making it to the playoffs, to 2-1 this season thus far playing against higher ranked teams and higher classification teams.

That all summarizes the play of the 2A Foster Bulldogs boys basketball team, and, the latest win was a non-leaguer over visiting Seamount 3A team, Evergreen, 79-62, Friday.

Now how can a team go from so bad the first three-quarters of the season last year to so good the final quarter or so of it?

How the remarkable turn around? John Barbee. The new coach.

When players don't change, but the coaching does change, well, then that's credit that goes to one person -- the coach. Sure, players buy into that new coach's system, but give the major turnaround credit to the coach who was the only "new" variable to the season three-quarters through.

Reuben Donaldson is another.

Who's he? A Bulldogs basketball player that was on junior varsity to start last season and by midseason certainly proved he could be moved up to varsity. But, unlike what everyone thinks is going to be said now that Donaldson got moved up and became a star for Barbee. Here is the truth.

Donaldson actually never did get moved up to varsity by Barbee once Barbee took things over coaching-wise.

"I had some issues with my grades," said Donaldson. His issues were a 2.0 grade point average. Actually that g.p.a. is not correct. "I was lower than a 2.0."

So Barbee learned a hard lesson there, knowing he would not be moved up to varsity because his grades were not good enough even though he was good enough to get the promotion to varsity.

So what did Donaldson do from that experience? Get highly motivated. Barbee got ahold of him and others and that all has made a difference to curve Donaldson's grades and basketball life in a completely different direction. Donaldson is a leader on the Bulldogs team this 2006 season.

Not just is Donaldson a leader on the '06-'07 Bulldogs boys team, he is a captain of it.

And, oh yeah, what about his grades?

"I have no issues with grades now," said Donaldson. "I have a 3.9 g.p.a. now. I attribute the change to my mom, my family, and believing in myself."

And it goes without saying that Barbee was instrumental as well, if for no other reason than getting Foster somewhere (districts) and with vast potential for next season that Donaldson did not want to miss the bus, so to speak.

Donaldson did a lot of schooling on the court against the Wolverines, making shots from running in mostly but knocking in a couple jumpers. He scored 16 points for the game, but many of those points came in the third quarter during a time the Wolverines were definitely still in the game. Absolutely this game was close, until Donaldson made lay ups for a 53-49 Bulldogs lead with a minute left in the third. Then Donaldson came right back off the Wolverines' captain, Nate Laupati's lay up, with another momentum buster to make it 55-51 Bulldogs.

During that time maybe his teammates saw something in Donaldson's play because they all began crashing the boards like they weren't doing quite as much midway through the third when Laupati then had made it 46-45, Evergreen.

So this game was close and the final score really is not complete of how these two battled as Foster led, 43-37, with seven minutes left in the third quarter after it was a 39-35 Foster lead at halftime.

"We picked it up after our halftime talk(from coach Barbee)," said Donaldson.

Still , Evergreen, as the above score increments indicate, did not roll over, down eight halfway through the third.

"Evergreen did a good job of battling back," said Barbee. "We jumped on them early and got complacent. The sign of a good team is how a team plays when they are up 10 or down 10. They play the same way."

Consistent intensity would be a couple good words to describe what Barbee is saying there.

Evergreen occasionally looked like the better team, at least they showed signs of quickness and shooting ability and boarding the ball that matched Foster's intensity.

But then the Wolverines lost a "leader", who got frustrated perhaps from his team down by 10 late to a team a lower classification and was tossed by the referee.

"That player is important to us, he is a leader," said Evergreen's coach, James Johnson. "He was called for going over a player's back for one (technical) and then a fan (responding to) was the second."

So with Evergreen, a team that looked good, 'at times,' as Johnson put it and he stated the obvious about himself, a new coach this season.

"I'm a new coach at a new school, we are having our times to gel, just not able to put it all together."

The Bulldogs are just a very good boys basketball team and Evergreen, higher classification or not, should realize that losing to the Bulldogs is not a humilating thing. The Bulldogs have only lost this season to Vashon, a 2A team that was top eight at state last season and is ranked number three in the state this year already. The Bulldogs also beat 3A team, Sammamish. Now on December 15 they go to the number eight ranked 2A team, Tumwater before coming home for a match against another stalwart 3A team, Renton, that was high ranked all of last season .

The Bulldogs are a lot different team even than the one that lost to Eatonville one win shy of the to-go-to-state game.

"We have an all new starting five," said Donaldson. "I am the only returner and I played JV."

The players are 6-2 sophomore John Williams, a transfer from Rainier Beach, 6-4 junior Travis Miller, a Las Vegas comer, and 5-9 senior Quinton Hendrix, who played at Kennedy last season.

Coming off the bench for the Bulldogs will be 6-6 freshman Darius Paige, who made a big block in this game and a nice outlet pass late in the game that was muffed by the person attempting the lay up. Also, 6-2 senior Aden Mohammed made some noise off the bench with his rebounding and intensity.

The coach, Barbee, has made this team turn around its intensity, starting when he came the last nine games of last season.

"My coach is the greatest," said Donaldson. "He pushes us, and doesn't give us anything easy. Everything we get we have to earn."

Donaldson said this team has some goals this year, two specifically. And one has to do with what Donaldson struggled with until he saw some hope to go after.

"Grades are important to him," said Donaldson. "We want everyone to have a 3.2 g.p.a. and we want to be playing in the Tacoma Dome in March (state tournament)."