Ins And Outs St. Vincent & The Grenadines

June 1, 2004

Adonal Foyle, Canouan

Standing just two inches shy of seven feet tall, Adonal Foyle has long towered over all of his fellow countrymen of Canouan. But his success as a professional basketball player in America has also made him a giant of a superstar as well.

Born in 1975, Adonal grew up with his two sisters Theresa and Marian, his younger brother Augustine - and their pet donkey in his grandmother's house in Canouan. Life on this dot of an island - measuring just 3 miles by 2 miles - was quiet and simple. There was neither running water nor electricity at that time, and certainly no real infrastructure to encourage young Canouanians to take up careers in anything other than farming or fishing.

So how did Adonal Foyle make it to the world's largest Basketball stage - the NBA? How did a future too big for a small-island boy to even dream of come true?

It all began when Adonal was just 15 years old. This is when he moved to the larger Union Island to further his high school education, and for the first time was introduced to the game of basketball - a game that would change his life forever.

Adonal recalls that on the first day of school his classmates, impressed by his height, insisted that he join them on the basketball court. Not knowing the rules - and to the amusement of all around - Adonal caught the ball and took off running at full speed down the court before slam-dunking it through the net. Luckily, that embarrassing moment did not stop him from pursuing the game. He went on to make his school's basketball team, and then represented the Grenadines in a tournament in the island of Dominica.

And it was here in Dominica that Adonal's raw talent for the game was discovered. He admittedly was not the best player in the tournament - or on his team, for that matter - and his team was arguably the worst one on show. But still, the two American professors who were refereeing the tournament - Jay and Joan Mandle immediately took note of Adonal's height, athleticism and work ethic, and encouraged him to relocate to America. They knew that basketball could pave the way to his college education - an opportunity too great for this young Canouanian to pass up.

Today Adonal Foyle has done much more that attain a college degree. During his 3 year college career he earned the NCAA record for most blocked shots - 492 -11 more than Tim Duncan and 39 more than Alonzo Mourning, and in 1997 was selected by the Golden State Warriors during the first round of the NBA draft.

Now entering his seventh season as a professional basketball player, Adonal ranks in the NBA's top ten for both blocks per game and total career blocks, and is the first Warrior's player to reach the 200-block mark in over a dozen years.

This Canouanian giant, however, is also making a name for himself off of the basketball court. In 1998 he was presented with the Mayor of San Francisco's Sports Hero Award, and in 2002 was presented with the NBA Community Assist Award and named by Sporting News to the NBA Good Guys list. Adonal also presides over an organization called Democracy Matters which aims to give college students in America a political voice - and has eamed the prestigious Change Agent Award from the Greenlining Institute.

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