Feb. 20, 2004
The Nova Notebook is a weekly in-season feature written by Villanova director of media relations Mike Sheridan. This week the Notebook catches up with sophomore guard Randy Foye.
In his first days on campus in the fall of 2002, his native Newark, N.J., was seldom far from Randy Foye's thoughts.
"I was so homesick when I first got here," he says. "I missed my family and friends. The only thing that took my mind off of it was basketball."
Eighteen months have passed since those early days at Villanova. It is a measure of Foye's growth as a person and player that the prospect of a return trip to North Jersey - where Villanova is to face Seton Hall on Feb. 21 at noon - is viewed now in a much different light than it might have been then.
"It's really just a business trip for us," says Foye of a matchup with the Pirates, who take the same 6-5 Big East record into the contest that Villanova does. "We have a game to play and I just want to play hard. I have no rituals or anything like that."
The journey for Foye has included peaks and valleys. As a freshman, he averaged 10.3 ppg and 3.5 rpg as he adapted to serving as Villanova's primary quarterback. Among the highlights were a 21-point outburst to spark a January victory over Virginia Tech and a 20-point, four assist, effort to help the 'Cats earn a victory over St. John's at Madison Square Garden on Jan. 15, 2003.
Foye began his sophomore campaign of 2003-04 with a flourish, scoring 20 points to spark Villanova to a 73-48 win over Temple in the season opener. Through the season's first seven games, Foye averaged 17.2 ppg. By December's end, Foye had played a pivotal role in an 8-2 Villanova start.
The 2004 portion of the schedule has presented more formidable challenges, though. As the tallest and strongest member of a three guard rotation that also includes freshman Mike Nardi and sophomore Allan Ray, Foye often finds himself being shadowed by forwards. On defense, he often checks taller foes as well and that has sometimes created foul problems.
What's more, his long-distance radar, so accurate early in the campaign, hasn't functioned as effectively in Big East play.
"I'm a big part of the reason why we've been inconsistent," Foye says.
It hasn't been for lack of effort. Foye is among the hardest working members of the Villanova squad and it's not uncommon to find him taking extra jumpers before practice. He's also spent time considerable time speaking with the coaching staff.
"Coach (Jay) Wright and have talked about it a lot," Foye states. "He tells me all the time that I need to play to my strengths by penetrating and taking mid-range shots. When I have missed shots this year, it's usually been because they weren't good shots for me. Now I'm really working on taking shots that play to my strength and less deep threes.
"I know I'm only shooting 28 percent on threes. But I think that has more to do with the kind of threes I have taken than not being able to hit them."
Recently Foye has applied those lessons in earnest. After three games in which he took only 17 shots, Foye has been a critical offensive weapon in Villanova's two most recent outings. His 11 second half points at West Virginia on Feb. 14 helped the Wildcats trim a 20-point second half deficit to two before the Mountaineers ultimately prevailed, 67-60.
"I watched the tape of the West Virginia game," stated Foye. "Everything Coach Wright told me was true. I'm at my best when I play to my strengths and I think I did a better job of that in the second half of that game."
On Feb. 18, Foye contributed 12 first half points to help Villanova build a 10-point halftime lead en route to a 80-68 win. Foye finished with 16 points and, most significantly, connected on 7-of-8 field goal attempts, including 2-of-3 from beyond the 3-point arc.
On the down side, Foye was limited to 24 minutes of action because of foul trouble. He ultimately fouled out for the fifth time this season.
"I want to do a good job and pressure people on defense," he says. "But sometimes I've been too aggressive."
Of course, Foye is one of those shouldering a heavy burden for the Wildcats at a relatively tender age. Villanova's guards ignite the offense and are counted upon to be playmakers.
"I'm used to that and I enjoy it," he says. "You want to be expected to make plays."
The quest to make plays can sometimes result in turnovers, a persistent nemesis of Villanova in recent years. As a team, the Wildcats average 16.8 per outing.
"We've had our ups and downs," Foye states. "As guards I think we need to do a better job of getting the ball to the forwards where they need to get it to make plays.
Foye's numbers are certainly solid. The product of East Side High School averages 14.0 ppg and 4.7 rpg in his second Big East season. He has logged 751 minutes, an average of 31 per game.
Yet Foye yearns for more and, when he hears Wright speak about the need for a sense of urgency in the campaign's homestretch, it clearly resonates.
"There is a sense of urgency," he says. "We are young but you just never know what can happen. Look at Snow (senior Derrick Snowden). This was supposed to be his year. He was going to be the man. Snow was going to be leading us and we would have been following. He would have been the general and we would have been his troops. Nobody ever would have expected him to get hurt. He was in great shape and then, all of a sudden, he hurts his knee.
"You can't take anything for granted. What happened to Snow is a great example of that. Every day you have to play as hard as you can to accomplish something now."
The journey Foye and his young teammates have taken has offered more than a few speed-bumps. However, it has also afforded a heralded group of sophomores that also includes Jason Fraser, Allan Ray and Curtis Sumpter, a chance to gain invaluable experience that should pay benefits on and off the court.
"We're not learning just about basketball," Foye states. "Some coaches just talk to their players only about getting better as a player. But it's not like that with Coach Wright. He is trying to prepare us for the real world. He always talks to us about being a man.
"There are going to be situations in your life when you have to step up as a man. Coach reminds us that we're going to face those situations when we get married and have a family and a career. You have to step up and be a man then and that's what he always talks about.
"Coach doesn't want us to think of ourselves as freshmen or sophomores. He wants us to think of ourselves as men."
One of those men returns home this weekend, more mature and aware than he was when he left.
NOVA NOTES: Another native of northern New Jersey, Marcus Austin, will not accompany the 'Cats to Seton Hall or Syracuse. Austin will remain behind as he recovers from Monday's surgery to insert a screw in his left foot. He is presently on crutches and hopes to resume basketball activities in June.
