A Career in Crisis

By Adonal Foyle, with Irwin Soonachan (Courtesy of Basketball Digest.)

March 2002

[Soonachan] "Is that Adonal Foyle?" So asked an NBA assistant coach after seeing Adonal display his newly-developed offensive skills. But as the season drew to a close, Adonal's improvement was just a minor footnote amid the sturm und drang of a franchise hitting new lows. In April, the Golden State Warriors became the first team in league history to lose 60 or more games for three consecutive years. This is no small feat: Except for the lockout season of 1999, the NBA has played an 82-game schedule for 34 years, and has played 80 or more games for 40 years -- yet no team ever managed such prolonged ineptitude.

It was a turbulent season for the Warriors, and Adonal faithfully recorded it -- warts and all -- for Basketball Digest. This is the final installment of his 2001-02 diary, and true to form, these entries are marked by his unflinching honesty.

March 14, 2002

We just got back from a very exhausting road trip. Back-to-back games are inherently difficult. We were down big in a lot of the games, but it was encouraging that we were able to fight our way back. There was just one game in there, against the Atlanta Hawks [a 121-96 loss on March 11], that was horrible. We just could not guard anybody. Part of it is that the road gets you that way, but the other part is that we have to learn to understand our limitations. We have to know when we're tired that it's better to slow down and be mechanical than to turn the ball over.

The trip was good for the team's unity. Erick [Dampier] invited some of his friends to his home for a meal and guys went out together, and those are encouraging signs for this team. The guys are having fun and are starting to be at ease with each other. It may not happen this year, but if this team sticks together, next season you'll see teammates that are better in tune with one another.

However, with 20 games left, we have to give the people who paid money to see us play and who have supported us something to cheer for down the stretch. They need to have hope.

I keep thinking about next year. Jason [Richardson] is playing great, 'Twan [Antawn Jamison] is doing very well, Gilbert [Arenas] is slowly finding he can play a little, and Danny [Fortson] is rebounding like a maniac. It feels like a good team, but it's a team that needs to learn how to win.

March 24

I would like to say that everyone is thinking about getting better and finishing up the season on a strong note, but I seriously doubt that. It's just about finishing for most people right now. It's kind of strange in a sense, because for me, this is the best time to figure out how we want to come back next year.

I just decided a few days ago that I am only going to take two weeks off this summer and will spend the rest of the off-season training. In every game I play, I'm trying to work on something that will make me better for next year.

It's hard to tell where my teammates are. Sometimes I feel some of them are going through the motions, but it's not the whole team. Some people just want to get to the end, but others are more like me.

My body is dead right now. I'm trying to hold it together until the season is over. I was talking to my dad and it's like, "My shoulder hurts, my lower back hurts, my ankle hurts, I have tendonitis in both knees, my head hurtsÉ" I'm really running on fumes. We're still practicing really hard, and we just had nine games in 13 days. This is my first season of having minutes all year, and playing hard every night takes its toll.

I think my attitude is why the fans have been very positive toward me. They say nice things to me, but I always feel the need to apologize because I promised we were going to have a better year. I want to tell them, "I'm sorry, I don't know what to say." They tell me it's not my fault, and they see I'm working hard. That's something really special to get from the fans.

Apris 2, 2002

We had a horrible road trip. I'd like to know who scheduled the games. We had four games in five nights, traveling for back-to-back games in different time zones, getting into our hotels at two or three in the morning. That made it almost impossible to play a great game against a team that was rested. In the five days, I didn't get six hours of sleep even once. It was a very difficult trip.

We were lucky we pulled one out in Minnesota against the Timberwolves [a 115-106 win on March 26]. Wally Szczerbiak [who mocked the Warriors in comments prior to the game] really screwed up. For him to pontificate as if he knew enough about our situation to talk about it was really insulting. If Marc Jackson had made comments like that, it wouldn't have been nice -- but at least he played here. But for Szczerbiak to call us clowns? He knows nothing about me or our team. I totally resent that, and I think all the guys felt the same way.

The next night, in Boston vs. the Celtics, we came back from a huge deficit and had a chance to win it. That loss [102-99] was a heartbreaker, but we're showing that we can compete with the best teams in the league.

I've always said that this was a good team. However, we're a very young team, and our inexperience shows at times. At least we haven't handed it in and said, "See you next year." We've come out and played well. We have something to fight for these next eight games: We have our pride, and we have the fans who have supported us all year.

I'm not sure how it began, but we're communicating better as a team right now. Suddenly, we're having a lot more dialogue. I think we probably hate together; that becomes a bond as much as loving together. We don't like certain things and we're upset at certain things, and we started talking to each other about what we're upset about, what we like and what we don't like. We laugh at each other, at the coaching staff if Cliff [Warriors assistant Clifford Ray] does something funny. We're understanding how far to go with each player, how much you can joke with everyone, how to talk to each person on the team.

You spend a lot of time with people, but you have to spend time to learn how to talk to them. It's learned over time. It takes time to understand individuals. By nature, people are complicated.

April 5

This week we opened a learning center for the Boys and Girls Club in San Leandro, Calif. The whole team was there. We signed autographs and I talked on behalf of the team. It was great seeing the looks on the kids' faces.

Part of the fun of being an NBA player is being able to make a kid's day. You never know what is going to hit a kid and inspire them. It could be a book they read, it could be a computer that they get on. We had a lot of fun.

I am always inspired by kids. Before every game I pick a kid out in the stands and I play for him or her. I say hello to the kid and maybe throw a ball at him or her. I don't tell the kid that I am playing for them, but in essence I am. I want that kid to have such an incredible experience at the game that he or she goes home and starts dreaming big. I appreciate the power that we have, as professional athletes, on the lives of young people.

Some people may think that it's odd that I try to inspire kids at the same time as I throw elbows or make physical plays, but basketball isn't that much different than the classroom. In class, you have to be aggressive and compete with people. During high school and college, I was aggressive in class, much the same way as I am on the basketball court. As long as kids don't watch me and think they can be physically aggressive off the basketball court, I see no conflict there.

April 8

Looking back over the season, I can clearly see how my success is intertwined in my relationship with Clifford Ray. Of all the players and coaches I've come across in basketball, Cliff is one of the most gifted instructors. He knows the game, he understands the big man's role better than anyone, and he understands every basketball situation. He's never been a top assistant in the NBA, which is mind-boggling. Some people blame it on the fact that he isn't going to kowtow to anyone.

The contribution that Cliff has made to me as a basketball player is huge, and not just in how I play my position. When Brian [Winters] told me I wasn't going to play, Cliff kept me from going absolutely crazy. It would have been easy for me to walk off the edge. Instead, Cliff kept me focused and working on my game. He is amazing.

April 11

During any period in life, there are going to be ups and downs, but this season, the Warriors had some severe swings. We did not have the season we were capable of having, and it has been a great disappointment.

The management has to do a lot of soul searching as to whether or not they want to keep this team together and whether or not they want to keep Brian. As much as it was a season of ups and downs, I have a feeling the summer will be even more so. Hopefully they get good draft picks.

Personally, I had a very successful season. I was able to do a lot more than play defense. I also was able to persevere through adversity and stay focused when I might have flown off the handle -- not that I wasn't close. I can continue to build on the things that I have developed.

Nonetheless, I am very, very worried about being a Warrior. I have spent five seasons here, and I don't think I have ever been as worried about the next season as I am now.

You would think that because I had a good year I will see a lot of action next year, but in the five years that I've been here, they always seem to have an excuse why I should be the odd man out. I don't have the time in my career to deal with it any longer.

I look at this as a moment of crisis. It is imperative that my career takes form and maintains form for the next few years. I see that as essential to the survival of my career. I am desperate to maintain some sort of good play over an extended period of time. I haven't done that yet either because of injuries or situations that are out of my control.

This year taught me that I might not get a credible opportunity to compete for my job -- I didn't play until Erick got hurt. If something like that happens again, I can't take it as gracefully as I have in the past. It's my career that's on the line.

As much as this has been a year of excitement for me in terms of personal development, I'm also very worried about what my future holds.

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