As the father of a two-year-old son with his wife expecting a second child next month, Patrick Farrell doesn't always get the chance to settle into an easy chair to watch the NBA playoffs. But the stars aligned on June 3, giving the former Wildcat the opportunity to watch the San Antonio Spurs host the New York Knicks in Game 1 of the Finals.
 
What he saw unfold did not surprise him even a little. Former teammate Jalen Brunson scored 30 points to help New York rally past the Spurs to grab the early series advantage. Another ex-mate, Josh Hart, collected 15 rebounds. And a third former teammate, Mikal Bridges, logged 28:12, chipping in with nine points, three boards and a pair of steals.
 
"Having known all three of them," said Farrell, "you just see their resiliency in the face of adversity. They don't worry about being on the road in the NBA Finals or falling behind. They just kept playing. They were probably saying 'attitude' to themselves."
 
That term was introduced to Villanova by a new head coach, Jay Wright, in 2001. It served as a foundational principal throughout a 21-year career that saw the Wildcats advance to four NCAA Final Fours and win NCAA national titles in 2016 and 2018. As Brunson noted following the Knicks' victory over Cleveland in the Eastern Conference Finals, Brunson and Bridges were a part of both championship squads while Hart was the leading scorer on the 2016 champions.
 
In suburban Pennsylvania, another former 2016 teammate Kevin Rafferty, was also dialed into the national telecast on ABC.
 
"It's just been really cool to watch," said Rafferty, who works for the Bank of New York, commuting daily by train to its location in Center City Philadelphia. "I kind of feel weirdly a part of it. Those three guys are doing it the same way we did with the same team approach and same kind of demeanor. Obviously, it's at the highest level but you still see moments that bring you back to how we played."
 
Farrell lived in Manhattan until last fall and still treks into the city daily while building his career at Pretium. A native of Rockville Centre, N.Y. – home to Jay and Patty Wright during Wright's seven-year tenure as head coach at Hofstra University – Farrell wasn't old enough to appreciate the Knicks' most recent trip to the Finals prior to this, in 1999. But the energy around the city is palpable.
 
"It's been fun to see," Farrell said. "This city has taken the energy to another level."
 
The Knicks have been on a steady ascent since Brunson's arrival, with Hart arriving via trade in 2024 and Bridges coming in another trade later that year. In many respects Brunson is the face of the franchise with a visibility level in the City that few athletes have known.
 
"When they first started popping up, I definitely did a double take," he said, "but now it's kind of become normalized."
 
Both Farrell and Rafferty see in their former mates a humility not always found at the highest level of sports.
 
"When I lived in Manhattan, I would run into Mikal at the dog park," Farrell states. "Where I'm at now, I occasionally run into Jalen and Josh. They always seem so happy to see me. For all their success, they're regular people, good guys."
 
When the sports world went dark during the darkest days of COVID, a company brought the players from the 2016 and 2018 teams together for a simulated game between the two sides. Most of the players took part and that connection has created an ongoing virtual connection that continues to this day.
 
"It's not just the recognizable names or exclusive to the '16 team or '18 team," noted Rafferty. "It's a whole group of people who grew up in the same kind of culture that valued the same things. It's former players and managers who still like to get together.
 
"Jalen, Josh and Mikal are the nicest people you can meet."
 
And, thus, easy to root for.
 
"At certain points in the game, you see things that bring you back to our time together," Farrell said. "Josh had 15 rebounds in that game by doing the same kinds of things he did with us, flying around to grab the ball. Mikal is making big shots and getting steals. And Jalen is just doing amazing things when his team needs him the most."
 
Rafferty often is asked if he saw this coming from Brunson.
 
"Whenever I'm asked that," he said, "I tell the same story."
 
As a resident of Malvern, Pa., Rafferty lived near the Villanova campus. Freshmen move-in and orientation happens four days prior to the full student body arrival for the fall semester. In 2015, Rafferty decided to move a few things into his dormitory apartment early. He made a stop at the Davis Center on a Sunday night and heard the bouncing of a basketball on the practice court at 9:30 p.m.
 
"Jalen was in a full sweat, getting shots up, on his first day on campus," Rafferty stated. "It's the kind of work ethic and determination that we saw throughout my time with him."
 
Patrick Farrell and Kevin Rafferty are in the work force now, commuting daily into major metropolitan cities. But they were shaped by many of the same core values that have helped their former locker room mates approach the pinnacle of professional basketball. And they are happy to be among the audience's more informed viewers.