Adonal Foyle
Encyclopedia
Adonal David Foyle is a retired Vincentian
-American
former professional basketball
center
. He was selected by the Golden State Warriors
with the eighth overall selection of the 1997 NBA Draft
. He played ten seasons with the team until the team bought out his contract on August 13, 2007. At the time, he had been the Warriors' longest-tenured player. He then played two seasons with the Orlando Magic
and part of the season with the Memphis Grizzlies
, sat out the next season due to knee surgery, and retired.
, St. Vincent and the Grenadines
. At the age of 15, Foyle was adopted by Joan and Jay Mandle, professors at Colgate University
.
He attended High School at Hamilton Central School
(Hamilton, New York
), where he helped the HCS Emerald Knights gain their first two state championships.
In his official biography, Foyle explained that he enrolled at Colgate University
because "he wanted the opportunity to learn the principles of the game in a slower paced setting, where the coach would be able to give him the attention he desired." With the Colgate Raiders
, where he was the school's all-time leading rebounder and 2nd all-time leading scorer. He left as the NCAA's all-time leader in blocked shots with 492, despite playing only three college seasons (his record was broken by Wojciech Myrda
in 2002). He now ranks third all-time, behind Myrda and Jarvis Varnado
.
In 1999, Foyle graduated from Colgate magna cum laude
with a history degree. Politically motivated, he founded the organization Democracy Matters
, which tries to curb the effects of money on politics.
In July 2004, during the offseason, the Golden State Warriors re-signed Foyle to a six-year, $42 million contract. Foyle played very sparingly during the 2006–07 season under new coach Don Nelson
, and was waived by the Warriors on August 13, 2007, with three years and $29.2 million remaining on his contract.
On August 23, 2007, Foyle signed with the Orlando Magic
for the veteran minimum of $1.3 million. On August 2, 2008, he re-signed with the Magic for another year, also at the veteran minimum.
He was traded to the Memphis Grizzlies
on February 19, 2009.
On March 1, 2009 the Grizzlies waived Foyle. Foyle signed with the Orlando Magic on March 23, 2009 for the rest of the season. Later that year, in August, Foyle re-signed with the Magic. However, he underwent arthroscopic knee surgery before the season began, and did not play that season. On August 17, 2010, Foyle announced his retirement. On September 7, 2010, the Magic named Foyle the team's director of player development.
In 2001, he founded Democracy Matters
, a non-partisan student organization, as an effort to counteract political apathy on college campuses. The organization's signature issue is campaign finance reform
, particularly Clean Elections
. Active on over 50 college campuses, Democracy Matters involves hundreds of students and faculty nationwide through teach-ins, letter writing and petition campaigns, educational seminars, and voter registration drives.
In 2005, Foyle founded the Kerosene Lamp Foundation, which serves children in St. Vincent & the Grenadines.KLF website
He played a cameo role of "detective" in the movie The Darwin Awards
.
Foyle became an American citizen on March 13, 2007, after being in the U.S. for almost 18 years. He also became a member of the National Basketball Players Association
Executive Committee.
On September 24, 2009, Foyle was inducted into the World Sports Humanitarian Hall of Fame. Only eight other NBA players have been inducted into the World Sports Humanitarian Hall of Fame. (Nate “Tiny” Archibald, Vlade Divac, Julius Erving, AC Green, Kevin Johnson, Dikembe Mutombo, David Robinson and Steve Smith).
| align="left" | 1997–98
| align="left" | Golden State
| 55 || 1 || 11.9 || .406 || .000 || .435 || 3.3 || .3 || .2 || .9 || 3.0
|-
| align="left" | 1998–99
| align="left" | Golden State
| 44 || 0 || 14.0 || .430 || .000 || .490 || 4.4 || .4 || .3 || 1.0 || 2.9
|-
| align="left" | 1999–00
| align="left" | Golden State
| 76 || 59 || 21.8 || .508 || .000 || .378 || 5.6 || .6 || .3 || 1.8 || 5.5
|-
| align="left" | 2000–01
| align="left" | Golden State
| 58 || 37 || 25.1 || .416 || .000 || .441 || 7.0 || .8 || .5 || 2.7 || 5.9
|-
| align="left" | 2001–02
| align="left" | Golden State
| 79 || 36 || 18.8 || .444 || .000 || .398 || 4.9 || .5 || .5 || 2.1 || 4.8
|-
| align="left" | 2002–03
| align="left" | Golden State
| 82 || 0 || 21.8 || .536 || .000 || .673 || 6.0 || .5 || .5 || 2.5 || 5.4
|-
| align="left" | 2003–04
| align="left" | Golden State
| 44 || 8 || 13.0 || .454 || .000 || .543 || 3.8 || .4 || .1 || 1.0 || 3.1
|-
| align="left" | 2004–05
| align="left" | Golden State
| 78 || 50 || 21.8 || .502 || .000 || .556 || 5.5 || .7 || .3 || 2.0 || 4.5
|-
| align="left" | 2005–06
| align="left" | Golden State
| 77 || 72 || 23.7 || .507 || .000 || .612 || 5.5 || .4 || .6 || 1.6 || 4.5
|-
| align="left" | 2006–07
| align="left" | Golden State
| 48 || 6 || 9.9 || .565 || .000 || .440 || 2.6 || .4 || .2 || 1.0 || 2.2
|-
| align="left" | 2007–08
| align="left" | Orlando
| 82 || 0 || 9.4 || .458 || .000 || .471 || 2.5 || .2 || .2 || .6 || 1.9
|-
| align="left" | 2008–09
| align="left" | Memphis
/Orlando
| 10 || 0 || 6.2 || .636 || .000 || .500 || 2.6 || .1 || .0 || .8 || 1.7
|-
| align="left" | Career
| align="left" |
| 733 || 269 || 17.8 || .476 || .000 || .499 || 4.7 || .5 || .4 || 1.6 || 4.1
| align="left" | 2006–07
| align="left" | Golden State
| 3 || 0 || 2.0 || 1.000 || .000 || .000 || .7 || .0 || .0 || .0 || .7
|-
| align="left" | 2007–08
| align="left" | Orlando
| 3 || 0 || 3.7 || .333 || .000 || .000 || 1.0 || .0 || .0 || .0 || .7
|-
| align="left" | 2008–09
| align="left" | Orlando
| 2 || 0 || 2.0 || .000 || .000 || .000 || .5 || .0 || .0 || .0 || .0
|-
| align="left" | Career
| align="left" |
| 8 || 0 || 2.5 || .400 || .000 || .000 || .8 || .0 || .0 || .0 || .5
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is an island country in the Lesser Antilles chain, namely in the southern portion of the Windward Islands, which lie at the southern end of the eastern border of the Caribbean Sea where the latter meets the Atlantic Ocean....
-American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
former professional basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
center
Center (basketball)
The center, colloquially known as the five or the post, is one of the standard positions in a regulation basketball game. The center is normally the tallest player on the team, and often has a great deal of strength and body mass as well...
. He was selected by the Golden State Warriors
Golden State Warriors
The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in Oakland, California. They are part of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association...
with the eighth overall selection of the 1997 NBA Draft
1997 NBA Draft
The 1997 NBA Draft took place on June 25, 1997 in Charlotte, North Carolina. Although the Celtics had the second worst record in the 1996-97 season and the best odds of winning the lottery with two picks, the Spurs, usually a model of winning and consistency, lost David Robinson to an injury early...
. He played ten seasons with the team until the team bought out his contract on August 13, 2007. At the time, he had been the Warriors' longest-tenured player. He then played two seasons with the Orlando Magic
Orlando Magic
The Orlando Magic is a professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. They play in the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association and are currently coached by Stan Van Gundy...
and part of the season with the Memphis Grizzlies
Memphis Grizzlies
The Memphis Grizzlies are a professional basketball team based in Memphis, Tennessee, USA. The team is part of the Southwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association . Along with the Toronto Raptors, the Grizzlies were established in 1995 as part of the NBA's...
, sat out the next season due to knee surgery, and retired.
Early life and college career
Foyle was born in CanouanCanouan
Canouan is an island in the Grenadines Islands belonging to St Vincent. It is a tiny island, measuring only 3.5 miles by 1.25 miles.A barrier reef runs along the Atlantic side of the island. The highest point on the island is Mount Royal. Two bays, Glossy and Friendship, separate the southern side...
, St. Vincent and the Grenadines
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is an island country in the Lesser Antilles chain, namely in the southern portion of the Windward Islands, which lie at the southern end of the eastern border of the Caribbean Sea where the latter meets the Atlantic Ocean....
. At the age of 15, Foyle was adopted by Joan and Jay Mandle, professors at Colgate University
Colgate University
Colgate University is a private liberal arts college in Hamilton, New York, USA. The school was founded in 1819 as a Baptist seminary and later became non-denominational. It is named for the Colgate family who greatly contributed to the university's endowment in the 19th century.Colgate has 52...
.
He attended High School at Hamilton Central School
Hamilton Central School
Hamilton Central School, located on West Kendrick Avenue,Hamilton, New York was established in 1946. It educates Students in K-12 with an average class size of 45 and a teacher to student ratio of 1:10.- Newspaper :...
(Hamilton, New York
Hamilton (village), New York
The Village of Hamilton is a village located within the town of Hamilton in Madison County, New York, USA.-Geography and climate:The village, located at , lies in the Chenango Valley, just south of the headwaters of the Chenango River. The village is approximately southeast of Syracuse and ...
), where he helped the HCS Emerald Knights gain their first two state championships.
In his official biography, Foyle explained that he enrolled at Colgate University
Colgate University
Colgate University is a private liberal arts college in Hamilton, New York, USA. The school was founded in 1819 as a Baptist seminary and later became non-denominational. It is named for the Colgate family who greatly contributed to the university's endowment in the 19th century.Colgate has 52...
because "he wanted the opportunity to learn the principles of the game in a slower paced setting, where the coach would be able to give him the attention he desired." With the Colgate Raiders
Colgate Raiders men's basketball
The Colgate Raiders men's basketball team represents Colgate University in Hamilton, New York in NCAA Division I competition. The school's team competes in the Patriot League and play their home games in Cotterell Court.-NCAA Tournament Results:...
, where he was the school's all-time leading rebounder and 2nd all-time leading scorer. He left as the NCAA's all-time leader in blocked shots with 492, despite playing only three college seasons (his record was broken by Wojciech Myrda
Wojciech Myrda
Wojciech "Big Vo" Myrda is a retired Polish professional basketball player. At tall, he played the center position. He was born in Poland but graduated from high school in the United States...
in 2002). He now ranks third all-time, behind Myrda and Jarvis Varnado
Jarvis Varnado
Jarvis Varnado is an American basketball player for Hapoel Jerusalem B.C. of the Israeli Basketball Super League. Varnado was selected by the Miami Heat in the 2010 NBA Draft....
.
In 1999, Foyle graduated from Colgate magna cum laude
Latin honors
Latin honors are Latin phrases used to indicate the level of academic distinction with which an academic degree was earned. This system is primarily used in the United States, Canada, and in many countries of continental Europe, though some institutions also use the English translation of these...
with a history degree. Politically motivated, he founded the organization Democracy Matters
Democracy Matters
Democracy Matters is a non-profit, non-partisan grassroots student political organization that is dedicated to deepening democracy. Democracy Matters advocates for public financing of election campaigns and other pro-democracy reforms in order to get big private and corporate money out of elections...
, which tries to curb the effects of money on politics.
NBA career
Through his NBA career, Foyle has averaged 4.1 points and 1.6 blocks per game. He has finished amongst the 10 highest players in blocks per game three times during his career.In July 2004, during the offseason, the Golden State Warriors re-signed Foyle to a six-year, $42 million contract. Foyle played very sparingly during the 2006–07 season under new coach Don Nelson
Don Nelson
Donald Arvid "Don" Nelson is a former NBA player and head coach. He coached the Milwaukee Bucks, the New York Knicks, the Dallas Mavericks, and the Golden State Warriors....
, and was waived by the Warriors on August 13, 2007, with three years and $29.2 million remaining on his contract.
On August 23, 2007, Foyle signed with the Orlando Magic
Orlando Magic
The Orlando Magic is a professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. They play in the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association and are currently coached by Stan Van Gundy...
for the veteran minimum of $1.3 million. On August 2, 2008, he re-signed with the Magic for another year, also at the veteran minimum.
He was traded to the Memphis Grizzlies
Memphis Grizzlies
The Memphis Grizzlies are a professional basketball team based in Memphis, Tennessee, USA. The team is part of the Southwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association . Along with the Toronto Raptors, the Grizzlies were established in 1995 as part of the NBA's...
on February 19, 2009.
On March 1, 2009 the Grizzlies waived Foyle. Foyle signed with the Orlando Magic on March 23, 2009 for the rest of the season. Later that year, in August, Foyle re-signed with the Magic. However, he underwent arthroscopic knee surgery before the season began, and did not play that season. On August 17, 2010, Foyle announced his retirement. On September 7, 2010, the Magic named Foyle the team's director of player development.
Off the court
In his spare time, Foyle writes poems, is a political activist, and reviews books for HOOP Magazine.In 2001, he founded Democracy Matters
Democracy Matters
Democracy Matters is a non-profit, non-partisan grassroots student political organization that is dedicated to deepening democracy. Democracy Matters advocates for public financing of election campaigns and other pro-democracy reforms in order to get big private and corporate money out of elections...
, a non-partisan student organization, as an effort to counteract political apathy on college campuses. The organization's signature issue is campaign finance reform
Campaign finance reform
Campaign finance reform is the common term for the political effort in the United States to change the involvement of money in politics, primarily in political campaigns....
, particularly Clean Elections
Clean elections
"Clean Elections" is a term used to describe a particular system of government financing of political campaigns, in which the government provides a grant to candidates who agree to limit their and private fundraising efforts and limit their campaign-spending.- In the United States :Clean Election...
. Active on over 50 college campuses, Democracy Matters involves hundreds of students and faculty nationwide through teach-ins, letter writing and petition campaigns, educational seminars, and voter registration drives.
In 2005, Foyle founded the Kerosene Lamp Foundation, which serves children in St. Vincent & the Grenadines.KLF website
He played a cameo role of "detective" in the movie The Darwin Awards
The Darwin Awards (film)
The Darwin Awards is a 2006 American adventure comedy film based on the website of the same name.Written and directed by Finn Taylor, the film premiered January 25, 2006, at the Sundance Film Festival...
.
Foyle became an American citizen on March 13, 2007, after being in the U.S. for almost 18 years. He also became a member of the National Basketball Players Association
National Basketball Players Association
The National Basketball Players Association is a trade association that represents basketball players in the National Basketball Association . It was previously a labor union before dissolving during the 2011 NBA lockout. It was founded in 1954, making it the oldest trade union of the four major...
Executive Committee.
On September 24, 2009, Foyle was inducted into the World Sports Humanitarian Hall of Fame. Only eight other NBA players have been inducted into the World Sports Humanitarian Hall of Fame. (Nate “Tiny” Archibald, Vlade Divac, Julius Erving, AC Green, Kevin Johnson, Dikembe Mutombo, David Robinson and Steve Smith).
Regular season
|-| align="left" | 1997–98
| align="left" | Golden State
Golden State Warriors
The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in Oakland, California. They are part of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association...
| 55 || 1 || 11.9 || .406 || .000 || .435 || 3.3 || .3 || .2 || .9 || 3.0
|-
| align="left" | 1998–99
| align="left" | Golden State
| 44 || 0 || 14.0 || .430 || .000 || .490 || 4.4 || .4 || .3 || 1.0 || 2.9
|-
| align="left" | 1999–00
| align="left" | Golden State
| 76 || 59 || 21.8 || .508 || .000 || .378 || 5.6 || .6 || .3 || 1.8 || 5.5
|-
| align="left" | 2000–01
| align="left" | Golden State
| 58 || 37 || 25.1 || .416 || .000 || .441 || 7.0 || .8 || .5 || 2.7 || 5.9
|-
| align="left" | 2001–02
| align="left" | Golden State
| 79 || 36 || 18.8 || .444 || .000 || .398 || 4.9 || .5 || .5 || 2.1 || 4.8
|-
| align="left" | 2002–03
| align="left" | Golden State
| 82 || 0 || 21.8 || .536 || .000 || .673 || 6.0 || .5 || .5 || 2.5 || 5.4
|-
| align="left" | 2003–04
| align="left" | Golden State
| 44 || 8 || 13.0 || .454 || .000 || .543 || 3.8 || .4 || .1 || 1.0 || 3.1
|-
| align="left" | 2004–05
| align="left" | Golden State
| 78 || 50 || 21.8 || .502 || .000 || .556 || 5.5 || .7 || .3 || 2.0 || 4.5
|-
| align="left" | 2005–06
| align="left" | Golden State
| 77 || 72 || 23.7 || .507 || .000 || .612 || 5.5 || .4 || .6 || 1.6 || 4.5
|-
| align="left" | 2006–07
| align="left" | Golden State
| 48 || 6 || 9.9 || .565 || .000 || .440 || 2.6 || .4 || .2 || 1.0 || 2.2
|-
| align="left" | 2007–08
| align="left" | Orlando
Orlando Magic
The Orlando Magic is a professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. They play in the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association and are currently coached by Stan Van Gundy...
| 82 || 0 || 9.4 || .458 || .000 || .471 || 2.5 || .2 || .2 || .6 || 1.9
|-
| align="left" | 2008–09
2008–09 NBA season
The 2008–09 NBA season was the 63rd season of the National Basketball Association . The 1,230-game regular season began on Tuesday, October 28, 2008, and ended on Wednesday, April 15, 2009...
| align="left" | Memphis
Memphis Grizzlies
The Memphis Grizzlies are a professional basketball team based in Memphis, Tennessee, USA. The team is part of the Southwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association . Along with the Toronto Raptors, the Grizzlies were established in 1995 as part of the NBA's...
/Orlando
| 10 || 0 || 6.2 || .636 || .000 || .500 || 2.6 || .1 || .0 || .8 || 1.7
|-
| align="left" | Career
| align="left" |
| 733 || 269 || 17.8 || .476 || .000 || .499 || 4.7 || .5 || .4 || 1.6 || 4.1
Playoffs
|-| align="left" | 2006–07
2007 NBA Playoffs
The 2007 NBA Playoffs was the postseason to the National Basketball Association's 2006–2007 season.There were four rounds of postseason action, all of them in a best-of-seven format, with teams seeded on a bracket. The team with the better record wasn't necessarily the basis of seeding teams in...
| align="left" | Golden State
Golden State Warriors
The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in Oakland, California. They are part of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association...
| 3 || 0 || 2.0 || 1.000 || .000 || .000 || .7 || .0 || .0 || .0 || .7
|-
| align="left" | 2007–08
2008 NBA Playoffs
The 2008 NBA Playoffs was the postseason for the National Basketball Association's 2007–08 season which ended with the Eastern Conference champion Boston Celtics defeating the Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers 4–2....
| align="left" | Orlando
Orlando Magic
The Orlando Magic is a professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. They play in the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association and are currently coached by Stan Van Gundy...
| 3 || 0 || 3.7 || .333 || .000 || .000 || 1.0 || .0 || .0 || .0 || .7
|-
| align="left" | 2008–09
2009 NBA Playoffs
The 2009 NBA Playoffs was the postseason for the National Basketball Association's 2008–09 season. The playoffs started on April 18, 2009 with ABC, ESPN, TNT, and NBA TV broadcasting the games in the United States...
| align="left" | Orlando
| 2 || 0 || 2.0 || .000 || .000 || .000 || .5 || .0 || .0 || .0 || .0
|-
| align="left" | Career
| align="left" |
| 8 || 0 || 2.5 || .400 || .000 || .000 || .8 || .0 || .0 || .0 || .5
See also
- List of NCAA Division I men's basketball career blocks leaders
- List of NCAA Division I men's basketball season blocks leaders