Oakland Tribune

March 14, 2007
by Michele R. Marcucci

Warriors center a U.S. citizen

SAN FRANCISCO -- The 1,151 people who took their final step toward U.S. citizenship Tuesday at Masonic Auditorium were joined by one big celebrity -- the Golden State Warriors' 6-foot, 10-inch center, Adonal Foyle.

Foyle, who migrated at age 15 to the U.S. from the tiny Caribbean island of Canouan, said he wanted to become a citizen of the country in which he has invested so much, and which has invested so much in him.

"I come from humble beginnings. When you look back on that, and come to where we are now, it has been a truly amazing journey," said the soft-spoken, engaging 32-year-old.

Foyle, who may have a gift for understatement, said his journey to becoming an American was likely different from others attending the ceremony. It may, in fact, be a singularly unlikely story among the collection of unlikely stories that make up the American experience.

Foyle's journey began when he left Canouan -- a 5-square-mile island of 500 people with no running water or electricity -- for America, brought by two college professors who saw him play at a basketball tournament and recognized his potential.

After graduating from high school, Foyle went to college at Colgate University in upstate New York -- not known as a big basketball school, but someplace where he could focus equally on basketball and his education. He said he is one of the first people from his island to attend college. He has since helped put his brother through college and a sister through culinary school, he said.

Foyle became a star college player while at Colgate, and then a first-round draft pick for the Warriors, with whom he has re

mained for nearly a decade. He has a bachelor's degree in history from Colgate and is studying for a master's in sports psychology.

During his time in Oakland, he has forged a reputation as one of the most civic-minded players in the National Basketball Association, forming Democracy Matters in 2001 to engage college students in the task of campaign finance reform, becoming the Warriors' official spokesman for the team's reading program and setting up a foundation last year to help Eastern Caribbean youths.

But ask him if he plans to take the next step -- running for political office -- and he is emphatic in his answer.

"No!" he said, with a laugh.

Foyle said it took him a decade to get his U.S. citizenship. He passed the citizenship test but is coy about his score.

"I thought I did well. I got here," he said.

All around him in the dimly lit auditorium, newly minted Americans getting instructions on how to get passports and register to vote showed they understand the true language of America: celebrity. Cell phone cameras clicked and scraps of paper were passed for autographs, and Foyle played gamely along.

"How tall you are?" one person attending the ceremony asked.

The professors who brought Foyle to the United States, Jay and Joan Mandle, were at Tuesday's ceremony, said U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services spokeswoman Sharon Rummery. Foyle said he hopes to celebrate his citizenship later this week.

But for now, he is focused on the Warriors' chances to make the NBA playoffs.

This has been Foyle's most frustrating season in the NBA. Although he's done his best to fit into new coach Don Nelson's up-tempo system -- Foyle lost 25 pounds since the end of last season -- he has played in just 43 of the team's 66 games. Foyle's diminished playing time has left him with career lows of 2.4 points per game and 2.7 rebounds per contest.

And, things may not get better for Foyle any time soon. He has three years and $29 million left on his contract, terms that make it difficult for Golden State to trade the seldom-used center. As it stands, only NBA superstars Kevin Garnett of Minnesota (10 years) and Tim Duncan of San Antonio (11 years) have played their entire career with one team as long as Foyle's stint in the East Bay.

Even as he sat out Monday's win against the Dallas Mavericks, which put the Warriors one game outside of the Western Conference's final playoff berth -- potentially the first time the team has made the playoffs in 13 years -- Foyle was upbeat about his team.

"It would be nice to be in the playoffs," he said.

Copyright © 2007, Oakland Tribune

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