A career in crisis - Adonal's Diary - Adonal Foyle

Basketball Digest, Summer, 2002 by Adonal Foyle, Irwin 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

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 offseason 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 hurts ..." 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.

April 2

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.