By DAVID LASSENThe Press-Enterprise
After an injury that hampered him early in the season, Randy Foye is beginning to make an impact on the court for the Clippers.
He's been making contributions in other places for some time.
Foye's reputation as a quality individual was influential in the Clippers' decision to sign him as a free agent last summer. And that reputation is born out not only by his conduct with the team, but also with his charitable organization for young people in his hometown of Newark, N.J.
"The big thing is Randy's a leader," said Neil Olshey, the
Clippers' vice president of basketball operations. "He's had ups and downs in the league (with injuries), but he's a great guy. And I knew that he was a guy that, after drafting (Eric) Bledsoe, instead of trying to undermine his development to feather his own nest, he would be a guy that would embrace the role of mentor."
The importance of pairing such veterans with young players is something the Clippers have learned the hard way, Olshey admits.
"We had issues in the past where we had the wrong type of veterans around young guys," he said. "And you see it deleteriously affected DeAndre Jordan. It affected Eric Gordon. At times it affected Al Thornton when he was here. And there was no way we were going to put the future of the franchise -- which is Bledsoe, (Al-Farouq) Aminu, Gordon, (Blake) Griffin and Jordan -- at risk, in the hands of veterans that had their own agenda."
Foye has embraced the role of mentor with his Randy Foye Foundation in his native Newark, one of the toughest cities in the world as far as gang violence, drugs and murders. He knows this from personal experience, having had family members involved with drugs, and a mother who disappeared when he was 5.
"I'm just trying to keep kids away from it," he said. "I try to give back, mentor them, talk to them, and tell them everything's going to be all right. ... I always said if I talk to 10 kids in a room, and one of them takes something from me, I feel like I did what I was supposed to do."
Foye seems a little less comfortable with the word "mentor" in a Clippers context -- perhaps because at age 27, in just his fifth year in the NBA, he seems a little young for that role. But he certainly is willing to pass along what he's learned so far.
"When you're young, there's ups and downs," Foye said. "So you always need someone who went through it before, and someone to talk to. When guys are playing great, I always tell them, 'You can never get too high, you can never get too low. The main thing you've got to do is keep working.' "
Foye says the young players repeated that message to him when he was discouraged by the hamstring injury that kept him out of 20 of the team's first 28 games. Only now, a month after returning, does he say he's nearing full health, noting his ability to get off the ground to challenge a dunk by Shannon Brown in last Sunday's game with the Lakers, and his ability to stay with Indiana's Darren Collison a day later.
"My main thing," he said, "is I want to go out there and give the team what I can. And right now, I'm doing a little bit of the little things."
Coach Vinny Del Negro said Foye "can make some shots for us, and sometimes we can go with a three-guard offense with him, get him off the ball and use his skills a little bit more. ...
"He's been a pro. It's just that the injuries set him back early."
That three-guard option was significant in the win over the Lakers, Olshey notes.
"They spread the floor, it allowed dribble penetration, and it opened the whole game up. ...
"I think Randy's best days are ahead of him. He was a little snake-bit with injuries" -- the hamstring injury was preceded by a knee injury requiring arthroscopic surgery last summer -- "but as he gets back to 100 percent and he gets his swagger back, that (lineup) is going to be an incredible tool for Vinny."
After an injury that hampered him early in the season, Randy Foye is beginning to make an impact on the court for the Clippers.
He's been making contributions in other places for some time.
Foye's reputation as a quality individual was influential in the Clippers' decision to sign him as a free agent last summer. And that reputation is born out not only by his conduct with the team, but also with his charitable organization for young people in his hometown of Newark, N.J.
"The big thing is Randy's a leader," said Neil Olshey, the
Clippers' vice president of basketball operations. "He's had ups and downs in the league (with injuries), but he's a great guy. And I knew that he was a guy that, after drafting (Eric) Bledsoe, instead of trying to undermine his development to feather his own nest, he would be a guy that would embrace the role of mentor."The importance of pairing such veterans with young players is something the Clippers have learned the hard way, Olshey admits.
"We had issues in the past where we had the wrong type of veterans around young guys," he said. "And you see it deleteriously affected DeAndre Jordan. It affected Eric Gordon. At times it affected Al Thornton when he was here. And there was no way we were going to put the future of the franchise -- which is Bledsoe, (Al-Farouq) Aminu, Gordon, (Blake) Griffin and Jordan -- at risk, in the hands of veterans that had their own agenda."
Foye has embraced the role of mentor with his Randy Foye Foundation in his native Newark, one of the toughest cities in the world as far as gang violence, drugs and murders. He knows this from personal experience, having had family members involved with drugs, and a mother who disappeared when he was 5.
"I'm just trying to keep kids away from it," he said. "I try to give back, mentor them, talk to them, and tell them everything's going to be all right. ... I always said if I talk to 10 kids in a room, and one of them takes something from me, I feel like I did what I was supposed to do."
Foye seems a little less comfortable with the word "mentor" in a Clippers context -- perhaps because at age 27, in just his fifth year in the NBA, he seems a little young for that role. But he certainly is willing to pass along what he's learned so far.
"When you're young, there's ups and downs," Foye said. "So you always need someone who went through it before, and someone to talk to. When guys are playing great, I always tell them, 'You can never get too high, you can never get too low. The main thing you've got to do is keep working.' "
Foye says the young players repeated that message to him when he was discouraged by the hamstring injury that kept him out of 20 of the team's first 28 games. Only now, a month after returning, does he say he's nearing full health, noting his ability to get off the ground to challenge a dunk by Shannon Brown in last Sunday's game with the Lakers, and his ability to stay with Indiana's Darren Collison a day later.
"My main thing," he said, "is I want to go out there and give the team what I can. And right now, I'm doing a little bit of the little things."
Coach Vinny Del Negro said Foye "can make some shots for us, and sometimes we can go with a three-guard offense with him, get him off the ball and use his skills a little bit more. ...
"He's been a pro. It's just that the injuries set him back early."
That three-guard option was significant in the win over the Lakers, Olshey notes.
"They spread the floor, it allowed dribble penetration, and it opened the whole game up. ...
"I think Randy's best days are ahead of him. He was a little snake-bit with injuries" -- the hamstring injury was preceded by a knee injury requiring arthroscopic surgery last summer -- "but as he gets back to 100 percent and he gets his swagger back, that (lineup) is going to be an incredible tool for Vinny."
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