Over the course of the 2026 NBA Finals, featuring the New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs, the Nova Notebook by Mike Sheridan is focused on the Wildcats' trio of Knicks standouts Mikal Bridges, Jalen Brunson, and Josh Hart. In this edition, we get some thoughts from another former Wildcat All-American Randy Foye, a 10-year veteran of the NBA who now serves as the President of Friends of Nova.
 
Time and score.
 
Those three words were a constant reminder to Randy Foye and his Villanova teammates when he played for head coach Jay Wright ahead of becoming the No. 7 overall selection in the 2006 National Basketball Association, landing in Minnesota after a draft-night deal with Boston. They were a reminder that what looked like a good shot four minutes into a game might look quite different in the final minutes when your squad is protecting the lead.
 
That sentiment crossed Foye's mind as he watched New York rally from a 29-point second half deficit to an improbable 107-106 victory in Game 4 of the NBA Finals Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden.
 
"The NBA game is very different from college," said Foye, a veteran of 752 NBA regular season games and 27 more in the playoffs. "It's eight minutes longer and it's a game of runs. You can't settle for 3's – you have to find the right shot or get yourself to the line."
 
The youthful Spurs fell into an offensive rut after intermission – they scored only 32 points over the final 24 minutes after posting 76 in the first half - and the raucous atmosphere of the Garden only added fuel to the Knicks' response as the lead shrank to 15 points at the end of the third quarter.
 
"Being in the Garden in an NBA game is like drinking 12 cups of coffee," Foye explained in a telephone interview Thursday morning. "The energy is like a caffeine rush. Once the crowd is back into it, it gets very hectic for the visiting team."
 
There is another danger for a road team in that situation.
 
"It's so competitive and, in the NBA, everyone is a great player," he says. "You can't allow yourself to get into individual battles. Jalen didn't let the Knicks get into any of those. The Knicks stayed level-headed and worked on themselves."
 
And, yes, that level-headed demeanor was a cornerstone of what Foye and the Wildcats were taught by Wright in his 21-season tenure as the program's head coach (2001-22).
 
"My entire life is one possession at a time," Foye stated with a chuckle. "In the worst scenarios I have been through, I've always leaned on that. I think you can see those principles that Coach Wright taught us in Jalen, Josh, and Mikal. You see them in KAT (Karl-Anthony Towns) and OG (Anunoby) too.
 
"You have to have a goldfish memory at all times."
 
In his present role with Villanova Athletics' collective, Foye interacts with a range of donors and alumni. The response to this run from the community at large has been nearly overwhelming. After the game Wednesday his phone was filled with both text messages and many more on his personal Instagram account.
 
"I'm a Newark kid," stated Foye. "I grew up across the (Hudson) river, and I just love this for the city of New York. What these three members of our Villanova brotherhood are doing is amazing. I think it has created a sense of great pride among our alumni.
 
"I'm also a part of the NBA brotherhood. Over the years, there have been a lot of superstar players who were supposed to be the guys to take this team to a championship. Yet these three – who weren't supposed to be those guys – have gotten the Knicks as close as they have been in a long time. They're all very talented and they've gotten to this point by playing the right way, playing for their teammates and coaches."
 
Foye hears the pride in pretty much every interaction he has shared with fellow alums over the past few weeks.
 
"I think a lot of them are like me – at a loss for words in how to describe it," said Foye. "They're so proud to see how these guys have brought that spirit from the Main Line to the biggest basketball stage in the world."
 
Foye's ample experience in "the Association" also leads him to offer a cautionary tale. If Knicks fans are of a mind to begin celebrating an impending title, they need to pump the brakes.
 
"Even though the Knicks are up 3-1," he states, "this series isn't over. Far from it. That's a very talented Spurs team that is learning as it goes. The job isn't done."
 
San Antonio hosts Game 5 Saturday night at 8:30 p.m. Ironically enough, it is the city where Villanova claimed its 2018 NCAA national championship with Brunson and Bridges central on-court characters and Hart on hand to observe in his first season as an NBA player. (Foye was there to witness it too).
 
That contest may be hard-pressed to recreate the drama of Game 4. But count on much of this University community being engaged from opening tip to the final buzzer. The Nova Knicks have captured the hearts of their fellow Villanovans.