Adonal Foyle

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Adonal Foyle

Position	Center
Height	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)
Weight	270 lb (120 kg)
League	NBA
Team	Orlando Magic
Jersey	#31
Born	March 9, 1975 (1975-03-09) (age 33) Canouan, Saint Vincent, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Nationality	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines / American
High school	Hamilton Central School
College	Colgate
Draft	8th overall, 1997 Golden State Warriors
Pro career	1997–present
Former teams	Golden State Warriors (1997-2007)
Official profile	Info Page

Adonal David Foyle (born March 9, 1975 in Canouan, St. Vincent and the Grenadines) is a Vincentian-American professional basketball player currently playing for the NBA's Orlando Magic. He was selected by the Golden State Warriors with the 8th overall selection of the 1997 NBA Draft and played with the team during his entire ten-year pro career, until August 13, 2007, when his contract was bought out. He was the Warriors' longest-tenured player.^[1]

[edit] College career

Foyle played collegiately for the Colgate University 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^[2]).

Graduated with a history degree from Colgate University, magna cum laude. Politically motivated, he founded the organization Democracy Matters, which tries to curb the effects of money on politics. He had an illustrious playing career while at Colgate, setting NCAA single season and career records for blocked shots despite leaving college after his junior season.

[edit] NBA career

Through his NBA career, Foyle has averaged 4.5 points and 1.9 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.^[1] The contract was argued by fans to be excessive, locking in a player who averages less than 20 minutes per game and who lacks offensive skills. The last two seasons Foyle has lost his starting role four times to three different players. During the 2005-2006 season, Foyle averaged 4.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.6 blocks in 23.7 minutes a game, earning $7,312,500.

On September 17, 2006, in an interview, the Warriors' new coach, Don Nelson, said that Foyle was 27 pounds overweight, and that he was a 3rd teamer. Foyle played very sparingly in the 2006-07 season and the Warriors reportedly have discussed a buyout of his contract which has three years and $29.2 million guaranteed left. Foyle's signing is seen as one of the most questionable free-agent contracts in recent history.^[3] Foyle was waived by the Warriors on August 13, 2007. On August 23, 2007 Foyle signed with the Orlando Magic for the veteran minimum.^[4]

[edit] Off the court

In his spare time, Foyle writes poetry, on which he closely collaborates with Washington Wizards center Etan Thomas, is a political activist, and reviews books for HOOP Magazine.^{[citation needed]}

In 2001, he founded Democracy Matters,^[5] 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.

Foyle became an American citizen on March 13, 2007, after being in the U.S. for almost 18 years.^[6][7]

[edit] Trivia

• At the age of 15, he was adopted by Joan and Jay Mandle, professors at Colgate University.^[6]

[edit] Notes

[edit] External links

• Adonal Foyle's homepage
• NBA.com Profile - Adonal Foyle
• Democracy Matters
• Adonal Foyle's Official MySpace Page
• Lucky #9: Revisiting the Warriors' Draft 9 Years Ago (Golden State of Mind)