Adonal's look back at Summer '03

It hard to believe that the 2003-2004 NBA season is just around the corner. With the Golden State Warriors kicking off training camp in Hawai'i, Adonal Foyle takes a look back at what had become a roller coaster ride of a summer.

"I had a great summer," Adonal said. "The first part of the summer was excellent. I traveled to Amsterdam. I got a chance to travel to Prague. And I got a chance to go back home and do my first basketball camp. I went to New York to the Players Union meetings. I got to do a lot of things. I got to go back to school. And I got a chance to play some basketball at Cal for the first part of the summer. I really feel good about it. Unfortunately, I got hurt. And from there, I went through a lot of rehab to try and recover from that. And certainly, I will recover fully. It was a summer with a lot of ups and downs. But it was certainly a lot of fun."

Adonal kicked off the offseason with his first-ever visit to Amsterdam and Prague, where he took in tons of sightseeing as well as several shows. Making a habit of exploring different parts of the world, Adonal took in the rich cultures that most of us aren't too used to.

"I thought a lot about the people over there and just how much culture shapes who we are," Adonal said. "How much we can learn from eachother. That we are all, somehow, interconnected. And sometimes we just have to let our guards down and find ourselves and find eachother. And when you do that, it's amazing how similar we all are, although we all look different as people."

In June, Adonal continued to stay in shape, playing basketball with several players on the Warriors as well as in the league. But a freak accident halted Adonal's play time and forced him to have arthroscopic knee surgery. Although the surgery was a success, Adonal was left immobalized. He was forced to stay at home for almost a month, isolating himself from simple things like going to the movies and dinners at restaurants. And when he was finally off the crutches, he still couldn't play the sport he loves.

"It's hard to just sit around for three months and not do the things you normally do," Adonal said. "And to not come to (training) camp and be in tip-top shape because of that, it's very frustrating for me. Because I'm one of those people who always comes into camp fully loaded and fully ready to go. It's a little bit of a setback for me. Everybody always says to me 'You'll be alright because you work so hard. This may be a good thing because you're going to come into the season really, really fresh.' I hope that's all true. Because I love this game. And the way I play, I need all the time I'm going to get to condition. So, I'm kind of looking forward to just go back and work on my knees.

By July, a walking Adonal, along with Warriors teammate Erick Dampier and 10 of his closest friends, traveled back to his home island of Canouan, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, to hold his inaugural Adonal Foyle Island Basketball Camp. Almost 200 kids from all parts of the Caribbean islands took part in the two-day events. Having gone into the camps with no expectations, Adonal was more than satisfied with the results.

"I don't even want to change anything for the camps," he said. "Just seeing those kids' faces was enough for me. Certainly, there are always logistical stuff you can always do better. But I think overall, for an inaugural camp, it was really amazing. It was wonderful, the kids enjoyed it, the people who came down from the states enjoyed it. To just see the kids learn the game in such a context and in a friendly environment, it was just so rewarding. And so I thought it was worth it to have the camp. And no matter what all the different things that could have been better, for those kids, it was amazing. And that's all that matters."

Entering his seventh season in the NBA, Adonal had gone full circle in just a three-month span. Savoring the enjoyment of his summer travels to forcing to stay at home due to injuries -- and back to traveling back to his home island, it was certainly a summer to remember.

"I think this summer was unique, he said. "I got to travel and then I got hurt. So, I had to deal with the dichotomy of elation and somewhat some depression in trying to get yourself mentally ready to go. That dichotomy isn't always easy. But to persevere and to keep getting better, to keep getting stronger and to keep learning, that's what made this summer special. And that's always great."

When asked what the main higlight was about his summer, he mentioned taking Dampier, his teammate as well as close friend, on a boat excusion back in Canouan.

- Chris Navalta for AFE

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