Dec. 2, 2005
The Nova Notebook, by Villanova director of media relations Mike Sheridan, appears each week beginning in the fall and continues through the basketball regular season. This week we spend some time with senior guard Randy Foye.
On a chilly late fall evening senior guard Randy Foye is in a place he knows only too well. The Pavilion is a spot where he has spent countless hours, honing his craft on the court.
In this instance, however, his vantage point is different. Instead of being on the hardwood he is seated in the student section of the Pavilion stands with a group of seven of his teammates and other friends to watch the Villanova women's basketball team take on George Washington.
In less than 48 hours, bedlam is sure to envelop this part of the Pavilion when No. 5 Oklahoma arrives to meet the No. 4 ranked Wildcats in front of a national television audience on ESPN.
"I really haven't thought about it that much," he says. "We've had three games prior to this one and everyone on our team knows every opponent is dangerous so you can't look ahead. As we start watching film of Oklahoma, I'll really pay close attention."
"I know people are talking about and it's great for the fans. But we have to concentrate on what we need to do and not get caught up in the hype."
Three games into his senior season, Foye seems poised for a terrific end to a college career that began, along with classmates Jason Fraser, Allan Ray, and Curtis Sumpter, amid much fanfare in 2002-03. The 6-4 guard gained another measure of experience this summer when he helped lead USA Basketball's entry in the World University Games to a gold medal in Izmir, Turkey in August. He was a cornerstone of a unit that included Duke's Shelden Williams, Boston College's Craig Smith and Syracuse's Gerry McNamara.
"I think it helped me a lot," states Foye of his stint playing for coach Jay Wright at the World University Games. "We had some of the best players in the country on that team and I was able to have success. That just showed me that I have the ability to play at that level."
Indeed, Foye was instrumental in Team USA's 8-0 run to the title. He often served as the squad's point guard, led the squad in minutes played and averaged 13 ppg. Team USA won its eight games by an average margin of victory of 29 points per contest.
"I was so proud of Randy," says Wright. "To see the respect with which his teammates and fellow athletes viewed him was such a great thing to watch."
A measure of Foye's esteem among his peers was the fact he was selected by the U.S. athletes to carry the flag into the stadium during the opening ceremonies of the World University Games.
Foye is no less respected in the Villanova locker room. His leadership is of particular consequence now, with fellow senior Sumpter sidelined by knee surgery. Foye recalls vividly the circumstances of Sumpter's October setback in practice.
"We could tell when it happened by Curt's expression that this was something serious," Foye states. "They were saying at first that it was a hyperextension. But we were all concerned.
"For the next two days we were all just sad. It wasn't because it was like, `Curt's a great player and we've lost him.' It was because Curt has one of the best personalities on our team. Everybody is his friend. We just felt awful for him."
Following a recent Villanova victory, Wright lauded the efforts of Foye and Ray in Sumpter's absence.
"Both Allan and Randy have really stepped up as leaders in Curt's absence," he says. "That was an emotional blow we absorbed and they have really helped us get through it."
Foye exploded for 21 points in both of Villanova's first two victories against Stony Brook and Lehigh. Through three games he is averaging 17.0 points, 4.7 rebounds and 5.3 assists per outing. What's more, he is 11-of-22 (.500) from beyond the 3-point arc thus far.
Of course, Foye is also adjusting to the new aura that surrounds the program. Villanova has not been this highly ranked in a decade and expectations have increased along with the attention.
"I don't even think about it, to be honest," says Foye. "It's something people talk to us about but we don't get caught up in it. We're the same old people we've always been."
Foye likes what he has seen thus far from the 2005-06 Wildcats.
"I think we've gotten off to a pretty good start," he states. "It's worked well with the four guards and I think we are ready for our next test." That comes on Saturday afternoon. Dick Vitale and Dan Shulman will be in the house and it figures to be a frantic scene. But a long list of games follows and the challenges continue later this month, with games at Bucknell, Penn and Temple.
"We just need to focus on each game as it comes," he says.
Notes: On Saturday, Foye will join Wright and Allan Ray for a pre-game ceremony honoring their roles as representatives of the United States last summer. The three will be honored at approximately 4:45 p.m. so that the ceremony can be taped for possible use in the broadcast ... Foye said he is feeling no residual affects after suffering a leg injury in a collision with a Rider Bronc on Wednesday night: "It's was just a bruise."... The first edition of "Inside Villanova Basketball with Jay Wright" airs at 7:30 p.m. on Friday night on Comcast Sportsnet.
