Adonal David Foyle (born March 9, 1975) is a Vincentian-American former professional basketball center. He was selected by the

Golden State Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. Founded in 194 ...

with the eighth overall selection of the

1997 NBA draft The 1997 NBA draft took place on June 25, 1997, at Charlotte Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Vancouver Grizzlies had the highest probability to win the NBA draft lottery, but since they were an expansion team along with the Toronto ...

. Foyle played ten seasons with the Warriors until the team bought out his contract on August 13, 2007. At the time, he had been Golden State's longest-tenured player.Warriors place Foyle on waivers; Center eyes Magic
updated August 13, 2007 He then played two seasons with the

Orlando Magic The Orlando Magic are an American professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. The Magic compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The franchise was establ ...

and part of the season with the Memphis Grizzlies, sat out the next season due to knee surgery, and retired. , Foyle does Warriors post-game commentary for ABC 7 in San Francisco.

Early life and college career

Foyle was born in Canouan,

St. Vincent and the Grenadines Saint Vincent and the Grenadines () is an island country in the Caribbean. It is located in the southeast Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles, which lie in the West Indies at the southern end of the eastern border of the Caribbean Sea wh ...

. At the age of 15, Foyle was adopted by Joan and Jay Mandle, professors at

Colgate University Colgate University is a private liberal arts college in Hamilton, New York. The college was founded in 1819 as the Baptist Education Society of the State of New York and operated under that name until 1823, when it was renamed Hamilton Theologi ...

.Citizen Foyle: a New Status for Center
, March 12, 2007. He first attended high school at Cardinal O'Hara Catholic High in

Springfield, Pennsylvania Springfield Township, Pennsylvania may refer to: *Springfield Township, Bradford County, Pennsylvania * Springfield Township, Bucks County, Pennsylvania * Springfield Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania *Springfield Township, Erie County, Penns ...

. He transferred after sophomore year and attended high school at Hamilton Central School ( Hamilton, New York), where he helped the HCS Emerald Knights gain their first two state championships. , his 47 points and 25 rebounds in the NYSPHSAA Class D semifinals in 1994 are tied for the most in either statistical category in a state tournament game. In his official biography, Foyle explained that he enrolled at

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, he was the school's all-time-leading rebounder and 2nd-all-time-leading scorer. He led the Raiders to their first two NCAA tournament appearances in school history. 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 Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some So ...

with a history degree. Politically motivated, he founded the organization

Democracy Matters : ''For the Irish Campaign group Democracy Matters, see Democracy Matters (Ireland).'' Democracy Matters is an American non-profit, non- partisan grassroots student political organization that is dedicated to deepening democracy. The organization ...

, which tries to curb the effects of money on politics.

NBA career

In his NBA career, Foyle averaged 4.1 points and 1.6 blocks per game. He was among the top 10 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 sparingly during the 2006–07 season under head coach

Don Nelson Donald Arvid Nelson (born May 15, 1940) is an American former professional basketball player and head coach. Nelson is second all-time in regular season wins of any coach in NBA history, with 1,335 (he held the record for most wins for almost 12 ...

, 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

for the veteran's minimum of $1.3 million. On August 2, 2008, he re-signed with the Magic for another year, also at the veteran's minimum. He was traded to the Memphis Grizzlies on February 19, 2009. On March 1, 2009 the Grizzlies waived Foyle. He 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, which he held until 2012.

Off the court

In his spare time, Foyle writes poems and is a political activist. He has reviewed books for ''Hoop'' magazine. In 2001, he founded

, 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 may refer to: * Reform of campaign finance Campaign finance, also known as election finance or political donations, refers to the funds raised to promote candidates, political parties, or policy initiatives and referen ...

, particularly

Clean Elections A publicly funded election is an election funded with money collected through income tax donations or taxes as opposed to private or corporate funded campaigns. It is a policy initially instituted after Nixon for candidates to opt into publicly f ...

. 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. He played a cameo role of "detective" in the 2006 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. He was elected to the

Common Cause Common Cause is a watchdog group based in Washington, D.C., with chapters in 35 states. It was founded in 1970 by John W. Gardner, a Republican, who was the former Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare in the administration of President L ...

National Governing Board in 2008. 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 Kevin Johnson may refer to: Entertainment *Kevin Johnson (singer) (born 1942), Australian singer * Kevin Johnson (ventriloquist) (born 1970), ventriloquist on ''America's Got Talent'' * Kevin Royal Johnson (born 1961), American singer-songwriter a ...

Dikembe Mutombo Dikembe Mutombo Mpolondo Mukamba Jean-Jacques Wamutombo (born June 25, 1966) is a Congolese-American former professional basketball player. Mutombo played 18 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Outside basketball, he has becom ...

, David Robinson and Steve Smith). In 2013, Foyle released his first children's book, called ''Too Tall Foyle Finds His Game''. In January 2014, Foyle traveled to Spain and Morocco as a

Sports Diplomacy Politics and sports or sports diplomacy describes the use of sport as a means to influence diplomatic, social, and political relations. Sports diplomacy may transcend cultural differences and bring people together. The use of sports and politics ...

Sports Envoy for the U.S. Department of State. In this function, he worked with Ruth Riley to conduct basketball clinics for more than 600 youth from under-served areas. In so doing, Foyle helped contribute to Sports Diplomacy's mission to promote conflict resolution, leadership, greater understanding and inclusion through sport. The Golden State Warriors appointed Foyle as the team's community ambassador in 2014.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Golden State , 55 , , 1 , , 11.9 , , .406 , , .000 , , .435 , , 3.3 , , .3 , , .2 , , .9 , , 3.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Golden State , 44 , , 0 , , 14.0 , , .430 , , .000 , , .490 , , 4.4 , , .4 , , .3 , , 1.0 , , 2.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Golden State , 76 , , 59 , , 21.8 , , .508 , , .000 , , .378 , , 5.6 , , .6 , , .3 , , 1.8 , , 5.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Golden State , 58 , , 37 , , 25.1 , , .416 , , .000 , , .441 , , 7.0 , , .8 , , .5 , , 2.7 , , 5.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Golden State , 79 , , 36 , , 18.8 , , .444 , , .000 , , .398 , , 4.9 , , .5 , , .5 , , 2.1 , , 4.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Golden State , 82 , , 0 , , 21.8 , , .536 , , .000 , , .673 , , 6.0 , , .5 , , .5 , , 2.5 , , 5.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Golden State , 44 , , 8 , , 13.0 , , .454 , , .000 , , .543 , , 3.8 , , .4 , , .1 , , 1.0 , , 3.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Golden State , 78 , , 50 , , 21.8 , , .502 , , .000 , , .556 , , 5.5 , , .7 , , .3 , , 2.0 , , 4.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Golden State , 77 , , 72 , , 23.7 , , .507 , , .000 , , .612 , , 5.5 , , .4 , , .6 , , 1.6 , , 4.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Golden State , 48 , , 6 , , 9.9 , , .565 , , .000 , , .440 , , 2.6 , , .4 , , .2 , , 1.0 , , 2.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Orlando , 82 , , 0 , , 9.4 , , .458 , , .000 , , .471 , , 2.5 , , .2 , , .2 , , .5 , , 1.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Orlando , 9 , , 0 , , 6.6 , , .636 , , .000 , , .500 , , 2.9 , , .1 , , .0 , , .9 , , 1.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Memphis , 1 , , 0 , , 3.0 , , .000 , , .000 , , .000 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 733 , , 269 , , 17.8 , , .476 , , .000 , , .499 , , 4.7 , , .5 , , .4 , , 1.6 , , 4.1

Playoffs

, - , style="text-align:left;",

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

, style="text-align:left;", Golden State , 3 , , 0 , , 2.0 , , 1.000 , , .000 , , .000 , , .7 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .7 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

, style="text-align:left;", Orlando , 3 , , 0 , , 3.7 , , .333 , , .000 , , .000 , , 1.0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .7 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

, style="text-align:left;", Orlando , 2 , , 0 , , 2.0 , , .000 , , .000 , , .000 , , .5 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 8 , , 0 , , 2.5 , , .400 , , .000 , , .000 , , .8 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .5

References

External links

Adonal Foyle's homepage
* * at NBA.com
Kerosene Lamp FoundationDemocracy MattersC-SPAN ''Q&A'' interview with Foyle, March 5, 2006
{{DEFAULTSORT:Foyle, Adonal 1975 births Living people African-American basketball players All-American college men's basketball players American adoptees American men's basketball players Centers (basketball) Colgate Raiders men's basketball players Expatriate basketball people in the United States Golden State Warriors draft picks Golden State Warriors players McDonald's High School All-Americans Memphis Grizzlies players Orlando Magic players Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) People from Canouan Saint Vincent and the Grenadines men's basketball players Saint Vincent and the Grenadines emigrants to the United States 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American sportspeople African American adoptees