Hi Fellow Fig Lovers..   I am one of the many on the east coast (NJ coastal) that had significant die back to the roots.  The tree was in ground and unprotected, south facing against my house.  For all the years I have had it, I did not think twice about winter protection as it was 7-8 feet tall bush structure (after annual pruning) w/ thick trunks, and flourished every year without skipping a beat (until this past winter).  

Getting on w/ my question...   would it be advisable to prune "unwanted" growth to hopefully promote shoots that I would like to keep to form the tree in coming years?  My initial thought was to allow the tree to do as it wishes, and see what comes back after another year.  More or less not trying to put my eggs in 1 basket and pick/choose at a later date.  But I am starting to think I should prune now, given how the tree is flourishing and literally growing in all directions.  My thinking is that A) reducing growth for branches I will not care to keep will allow the tree to "focus" on promoting the shoots that remain, and B) some of the shoots in front will probably provide a bit of shade and slow the growth of shoots I want to keep.

The shoots that I am hoping to keep are unfortunately the ones that started developing a bit later that are coming off at the stump of the tree I cut down earlier this year.  The reasoning is mainly the placement of the tree between the house and the driveway, so it has room to grow as it did before.

    
<<you can see in this photo a couple of the smaller shoots I am hoping to keep>>

TIA!

You should shape your tree the way you want it.  If you air layer the unwanted branches you can give plants to friends or sell them. 

Let it grow and prune late fall. Trade or sell the cuttings. Propagate those cuttings. Plant them... repeat.

Hi,
Welcome to the forum.
Well too many people in your fruit-basket .
So yes, keep five or if you space them enough keep ten . But more than twenty is really too many.
I would keep one or two in the forefront for give away and five behind.
The ones you remove, I would try for playing, half of them in water, and half in dirt in pots, to see which root better ...
- the last choice is yours - .

I recall a technique in "The Grafter's Handbook" - I think it's called "stooling"? Anyway, you take a tree that has been cut (or I assume frozen) to the ground. You let a bunch of new shoots sprout from the roots. Then bury the bottom few inches in soil. Keep it moist and roots will soon form. Cut off each shoot below the new rootball and plant in a pot or in ground. Instead of selecting your new permanent tree structure now, just wait until the air layers have made roots and just remove the extra soil from the keepers.