July 17, 2008

The Nova Notebook, by Villanova director of media relations Mike Sheridan, appears weekly during the fall and into the basketball season and periodically from May through August. In this entry we spend time with Villanova grad and Minnesota Timberwolves guard Randy Foye.

On a warm and steamy July afternoon Randy Foye steps out of a black sports utility vehicle and into his past. He is in the parking lot of the Wachovia Center, a site which helped launch his basketball career and left the Villanova faithful with a treasure trove of memories in 2005 and '06. It is a building filled with happy memories, of triumphs over the nation's No. 1 team and NCAA Tournament wins.

This visit though, is less about nostalgia than it is the newest phase of Foye's personal growth chart, one Villanovans have followed intently since he arrived as part of a ballyhooed four-man recruiting class in 2002.

Villanova knows well Randy Foye, All-American and National Basketball Association first round draft choice.

Today we introduce you to Randy Foye, chief executive officer, chairman and burgeoning entrepreneur.

The backdrop for this meeting is the studio of Comcast SportsNet, where the 2006 Villanova grad appeared on "Daily News Live" to discuss the work of the charitable organization he does much more than lend his name to. The Randy Foye Foundation has evolved in the last 12 months from a concept to a fledgling outfit dedicated to giving back to the children and people of Newark, N.J., the city that nurtured Foye's hoop dreams.

Straight ahead is a "Night for Newark", which takes place on Saturday, Aug. 2 at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center. Proceeds from the gala will go to raise funds and develop programs and projects aimed at improving the lives of people in Newark. Among those scheduled to appear are Newark mayor Cory Booker and Villanova's own Jay Wright.

Dressed in a black pinstriped suit jacket with vest and open collared dress shirt, Foye very much looks the part of a young businessman. He concedes that his new role, which includes plenty of public appearances as his foundation's most visible face, seems far removed from his earliest days at Villanova, when he was more than happy to cede the spotlight to more self-assured types like Jason Fraser and Allan Ray.

"I think Villanova prepared me for this," he states. "Without having that Villanova education in my background, I'm not sure I'd be ready to go before hundreds or thousands of people to speak. To have that degree and that ability to speak before the television cameras really helps me out. It just makes me feel more comfortable whenever I represent my foundation."

The Foye who came to Villanova was clearly an accomplished basketball player, chosen as New Jersey's player of the year as a senior. But the new environment challenged him as much as anything on the basketball court. He has spoken about his homesickness in his freshman year and the public part of his new position was as daunting as anything he dealt with. Although unfailingly polite with the media, he was often uneasy about on-camera interviews.

In one instance, he finished speaking with a local television reporter after practice and returned to the locker room. A few minutes later he re-appeared frantically searching for a school official, fearful that he had uttered something that could have been viewed as "bulletin board" material for an opponent. The official, who had listened to the interview, assured him the words did not sound inflammatory but Foye asked if he could speak to the reporter to explain more fully his meaning. He did and the reporter later commented how much she appreciated his concern for how he presented himself.

And now, in 2008, he was on the Daily News Live panel with one of television's most honest and quoted personalities, Charles Barkley.

"It was different," he says with a laugh. "But it's cool. I've met him before and he's always been very nice to me."

These days, Foye spends most of his time at his new home in Middletown, N.J., about 45 minutes south of Newark. He and his fiancée Christine Rivera, are the parents of a five month old daughter and he has a regular workout regimen at nearby Rumson-Fair Haven High School and Monmouth University that often includes former backcourt mate Mike Nardi.

His foundation has several projects already underway. It is undertaking a program to rebuild and renovate First/Third Street Park in Newark's north ward located at the end of the street where Foye grew up. The goal is to raise $750,000 which the city has pledged to match. There is an Assist 4 Life Program that identifies children at the crossroads and aims to steer them in the right direction through after-school activities, educational projects and mentoring programs. Another undertaking is Team Foyeboy, a program that aids underprivileged youth basketball programs in association with Nike, the NBA, and corporate sponsors.

Day-to-day operations are the domain of president Chris Champeau and vice-president Christina Vuocolo, a student manager during Foye's Villanova career who later served as Wright's administrative assistant. Much of their energy is focused on the upcoming gala in Newark.

"We're getting a lot of publicity out of this but that's not the big thing for me," he says. "I just want to help because when I was growing up there really wasn't anyone there for my friends and me that I knew of that gave back to the community. I'm just trying to put some pride and hope back for some of these kids in my city, Newark, N.J."

Foye's following in Newark was strong during his college career and his status as an NBA player willing to lend an active hand has only enhanced that.

"It probably has grown," he says. "I think Newark loves me for being me because I always come back and still try to help."

There are some who counsel professional athletes not to become too deeply involved in their home town. While the thought might be noble, the reality is sometimes more sticky. Yet Foye was convinced that this was something he wanted to do and not merely go through the motions.

"The reason I wanted to give back is that I was a part of that environment," he explains. "Newark is what makes me who I am. If it wasn't for Newark, I wouldn't have been the basketball player I am and I wouldn't have made it to Villanova. That's me. I've always got to go back and do what I can. If I speak to 1,000 kids and one of them gets something out of that conversation and goes back to change something about his life, maybe that changes another life for the better and another after that.

"I feel like I've helped out. In the `Assist 4 Life' program, I donate for every assist that I make to eight kids that we've chosen from my old elementary school in the sixth and seventh grades. They are `high-risk' kids - not the best students in class, not the worst students but sort of in-between. We're trying to challenge them. If you can turn a C into a B in the next marking period, there are rewards for that. We'll have cookouts at my house or take them to Great Adventure when they excel."

Clearly, Foye is more than a spokesman. He is in constant contact with Champeau and Vuocolo during the NBA season and the foundation's offices are near his home. The staff is growing and Foye says he has borrowed much from the management style of Wright.

"Coach Wright was my role model for the way I handle everything in my life, from my family to my career to the foundation," Foye states. "I used to ride around with him to different events and I never really said much. But I always watched how he handled things and how he ran things, not just with us as players but how he ran the program's business and his camps.

"I never thought I'd be in this position. But I guess you could say I'm trying to follow in his footsteps."

Even as the demands on his time have increased, his commitment to his college friends has not. Earlier in the month he was in Las Vegas and caught up with Curtis Sumpter as he played for the Denver Nuggets summer league team. Marcus Austin has been a visitor to his home in Minneapolis. Through his relationship with Timberwolves president Kevin McHale, he helped Chris Charles secure a spot on the Chicago Bulls' summer league roster. And though their travel schedules don't allow them to spend much time together, he is still close to Kyle Lowry and Ray.

"It's like a brotherhood," he says. "We've all stuck together. We're on all different paths but I know that with what Coach Wright instilled in us, we're all going to be all right."

Foye is fully recovered from the kneecap fracture that sidelined him for the first half of the 2007-08 season. Minnesota added Kevin Love in the draft and Foye believes the young core will make strides in the NBA Western Conference. In the mean time, he is concentrating on keeping his body in basketball shape and gearing up for a busy month of foundation work in August that also includes his first "Randy Foye Basketball Camp".

"I am definitely planning to be at Summer Jam (Aug. 4)," he says. "We'll be racing down after we finish up the first day of our camp but I want to be there."

On that occasion, Villanova fans will likely see Foye in his more customary summer garb of golf shirt and shorts. But only two nights earlier, Foye will be squarely in the spotlight as the host for the "Night for Newark."

"I know I'm only 24," he says, "but to me it's better early than late to start giving something back to your community. I really want to be a successful young man."

As Foye says goodbye and heads toward the SUV for the ride back into New Jersey, it's impossible for the observer to view him as anything but that.

For more information on the Randy Foye Foundation and its "Night for Newark", visit www.therandyfoyefoundation.org or call (732) 576-8181.