Adonal Foyle retires with NBA retirement poem

Adonal Foyle retires with NBA retirement poem

Adonal Foyle, an NBA basketball player with a total of 13 seasons under his belt, announced his retirement from basketball this week.

From humble island beginnings, Adonal’s basketball talent was discovered by two Colgate University professors who brought him to the United States and laid the foundation for Foyle’s NBA basketball career spanning both coasts with the Golden State Warriors and the Orlando Magic.

In addition to a noteworthy NBA career, Foyle’s passion to make a difference has fueled the founding of the Kerosene Lamp Foundation (KLF). Since 2005, KLF has built/refurbished basketball courts in urban areas to provide safe places to play for more than 3,000 youth. KLF’s most recent mentorship program, All-Star Student Athletes, is designed to turn promising young basketball players from Adonal’s native country of St. Vincent & the Grenadines, into successful student-athletes. Foyle was inducted into the Sports Humanitarian Hall of Fame for his work with KLF.

“I have loved every minute of the game,” said Foyle. “Retiring is bittersweet as my happiest memories are with the game. I’m looking forward to spending more time on humanitarian issues and mentoring the young basketball players who may need a voice of experience as they embark on their NBA careers.”

Foyle recently completed his third and final season with the Orlando Magic. Prior to that, he spent a decade with the Golden State Warriors, where he began his career as the NBA’s eighth overall draft pick. Foyle holds the Warriors’ all-time record in blocked shots (1,140) and is fifth on their all-time list for offensive rebounds and sixth for defensive rebounds.

Adonal’s education continues beyond the NBA. In addition to plans to support his Kerosene Lamp Foundation, he is finishing up his Masters Degree in Sports Psychology from John F. Kennedy University. Foyle has written a poem to commemorate his love affair with basketball.

ADONAL FOYLE RETIREMENT POEM

LOVE SONG TO A GAME: NBA Retirement poem by Adonal Foyle

How should I tell thee goodbye?

What can you say about a love affair to rival that of Romeo & Juliet? This is not just some melancholy ode to a hackneyed love of mortals.

I found our love deep in the entrails of the Caribbean Sea. Love that swept me to a land where our embrace became mythical.

You showed me a world that few have dreamt of.

Colgate’s golden steeple, a sojurn where ancient teachings flooded my mind.

There in the Chenango Valley where 13 sang my soul to flight, basketball laid siege to my soul.

I do not cry for the passing of our love for it stands radiant while my brittle bones crumble through swift time.

I have known you by so many faces; I will spend my end of days recalling.

You have infected so many with the allure of riches and black gold. But I am not angry with you my love. For to a boy who was lost in the bosom of nothing you gave hope and home.

Like the flickering of a light we come and go without much fuss. So I leave you to fend off seekers, hoping they too will cherish your unyielding countenance.

As for me, I will forever live in the glare of your loving embrace. From time to time I hope you will look in on this pitiful fool.

I will miss brothers of a quilt struggling with burning lights. If I offer advice, pierce beyond the glaring lights and see the faces behind the wall. Don’t be fooled by the magicians’ nibble fingers. For this is a life with mirrors and screens. Its only truth lies in the understanding it will all end.

The sound I will take home is the symphony of thousands of screaming friends.

Warriors, Magic and yes, Memphis too, I sing you praise, hope, blessings,

Flowing from a boy’s songs of thanks to you and you and you,to all I knew.

Please stay my “immortal love.”


Adonal Foyle retires with NBA retirement poem - adonal foyle picture

Cavalier sign Samardo Samuels

The Cleveland Cavaliers have signed forward Samardo (sa-MAR-doe) Samuels to a contract, Cavaliers General Manager Chris Grant announced today.  Per league and team policy, terms of the contract were not announced.

Samuels, 21, played two seasons at Louisville before declaring for the 2010 NBA Draft, averaging 13.5 points on .549 shooting and 5.9 rebounds in 27.1 minutes in 70 games (all starts).  In his sophomore and final season with the Cardinals, he led the team in scoring (15.3) and rebounding (7.0) in 29.3 minutes per game.

The 6-foot-9, 260-pound rookie played in five games (three starts) with the Chicago Bulls in the 2010 NBA Summer League in Las Vegas and averaged 12.6 points on .571 shooting and 7.4 rebounds per game.


March 10 2010: Louisville's forward Samardo Samuels (15) makes a pass in the first half during a semi-final Big East Tournament game between the Louisville Cardinals and the Cincinnati Bearcats at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Cincinnati defeats Louisville 69-66.

Jerry West open to NBA front office return

Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com reports:

Jerry West with a prominent role in the new Golden State hierarchy will apparently remain interesting what-could-have-been, but the legendary former personnel boss of the Lakers and Grizzlies confirms he is open to returning to the front-office world.

That could have been with the Warriors if Oracle boss Larry Ellison had bought the team. West has known Ellison for years and said the two talked several months ago about His Logoness as part of a possible management team in Oakland, West confirmed publicly for the first time. It appealed to West because of the relationship with Ellison and the proximity of an hour plane ride from West’s permanent home in Los Angeles, but became moot once Joe Lacob and Peter Guber beat Ellison to the Warriors in a surprise outcome.

Statement from Pacers president Larry Bird on arrest of Lance Stephenson

Statement from Indiana Pacers President of Basketball Operations Larry Bird:

The news of Lance Stephenson’s arrest is very disappointing to the Pacers franchise and to me personally.  We have worked very hard to bring in players that are excellent representatives of our franchise, community and state both on and off the court.   Our commitment to this goal is too strong to permit the actions of one individual to reverse all of the positive strides that have been made as a franchise over the last couple of years or to hurt the image of the rest of the players on our team.  Everyone in the Pacers organization remains strongly committed to our players representing Indianapolis and the state of Indiana in a positive way and will not condone behavior that reflects poorly on this franchise and community.

We are continuing to gather all of the facts regarding Lance’s arrest but regardless of the outcome of the investigation, Lance should not have put himself in the position he was in early Sunday morning.  We have consistently emphasized to our players the importance of not putting themselves in situations where bad things can happen.  Once all the facts are known we will deal appropriately with Lance so that he, the team and the entire Pacers community understands that this message cannot be ignored.

Raptors hire Scott Roth as assistant coach

The Toronto Raptors announced Monday the addition of Scott Roth as an assistant coach. Roth brings 25 years of experience as a player, scout and coach in the professional and international ranks to head coach Jay Triano’s staff.

“Scott and I have a long history dating back to playing professionally at the same time in Turkey,” said Triano. “He is a coach who brings to us experience from many different levels of basketball – International, D-League and the NBA.”

Roth comes to Toronto following one season as an assistant coach with the Golden State Warriors. Prior to that he was the head coach of the Bakersfield Jam of the NBA D-League in 2008-09 and guided the team to its first post-season appearance with a 26-24 record.

Roth has served seven seasons in the NBA as an assistant coach with the Dallas Mavericks (1996-2000) and Vancouver/Memphis Grizzlies (2000-02), and four seasons as a scout and advisor for the Milwaukee Bucks.

In 2000, Roth was the head coach of the Turkish National Team when they claimed a silver medal at the European Championships held in Istanbul. A year later he guided Turkey at the 2001 World Championships in Indianapolis. Most recently, he was the head coach of the Dominican Republic National Team in 2007 and 2008, earning a silver medal at the CBC Caribbean Championships in Puerto Rico.

Following a standout collegiate career at the University of Wisconsin, Roth was selected in the fourth round of the 1985 NBA Draft by the San Antonio Spurs. He opted to begin his professional playing career overseas with Efes Pilsen in Turkey. He returned to North America in 1987 and appeared in 160 NBA games with the Utah Jazz (1987-88), San Antonio Spurs (1988-89) and Minnesota Timberwolves (1989-90) before returning to Europe to finish his career.

Pistons sign Tracy McGrady

Pistons sign Tracy McGrady

Detroit Pistons President of Basketball Operations Joe Dumars announced today that the club has signed free agent guard/forward Tracy McGrady.  Per team policy, terms of the contract were not disclosed.

McGrady, 31, played 30 games last season with the Houston Rockets and New York Knicks averaging 8.2 points, 3.1 rebounds and 3.3 assists in 22.4 minutes per game.  He scored a season-high 26 points (10-17 FG) vs. the Oklahoma City Thunder (2/20) and recorded 21 points (6-12 FG, 2-2 3FG) and season-high-tying eight assists against the Pistons (3/3).

A seven-time NBA All-Star and two-time NBA scoring champion, McGrady holds career averages of 21.5 points, 6.0 rebounds and 4.7 assists in 814 games.  He led the NBA in scoring in 2002-03 (32.1 ppg) and 2003-04 (28.0 ppg) and averaged 24-plus points in seven consecutive seasons from 2000-01 to 2006-07.  He’s been named to the All-NBA First Team twice (2002, 2003), All-NBA Second Team three times (2001, 2004, 2007) and All-NBA Third Team twice (2005, 2008).  McGrady was named the NBA’s Most Improved Player in 2000-01 when he averaged 26.8 points with the Orlando Magic, an improvement from 15.4 points the previous season.  He’s recorded 2,000-plus points in a season twice (2000-01, 2002-03) and has scored 1,000-plus points in nine of his 13 seasons.  McGrady scored a career-high 62 points against the Washington Wizards (3/10/04) and has scored 40-plus points 45 times in his NBA career.  He ranks 10th amongst active players in career points (17,534) and has appeared in 38 career playoff games, averaging 28.5 points, 6.9 rebounds and 6.2 assists.

The 6-8, 223-pound native of Bartow, FL, was drafted by the Toronto Raptors in the first round (ninth overall) of the 1997 NBA Draft.  Drafted out of Mount Zion Christian Academy High School (NC), McGrady was honored earlier in his career as one of the “Good Guys in Sports” by The Sporting News for his community relations efforts.


Mar. 19, 2010 - New York - (100320) -- NEW YORK, March 20, 2010 (Xinhua) -- Tracy McGrady(R) of New York Knicks dribbles during an NBA game against Philadelphia 76ers in New York, United States of America, March 19, 2010. New York Knicks won 92-88.. (Xinhua/Shen Hong.

Magic sign rookie Stanley Robinson

The Orlando Magic have signed forward Stanley Robinson, President of Basketball Operations Otis Smith announced today.

Robinson was originally selected by Orlando during the second round (59th overall) of the 2010 NBA Draft. Per team policy, terms of the deal are not disclosed.

Robinson played on the Magic’s summer league team in the 2010 AirTran Airways Pro Summer League, where he averaged 5.4 points and 5.2 rebounds and shot 50 percent from the floor.

Robinson (6’9”, 210, 7/14/88) appeared in 126 career games (103 starts) at the University of Connecticut, averaging 9.8 ppg., 6.2 rpg., 1.0 apg. and 1.03 blkpg. during his four-year collegiate career. As a senior (2009-10), he averaged 14.5 ppg., a team-high 7.6 rpg., 1.0 apg. and 1.21 blkpg. for the Huskies. Robinson helped UConn reach the NCAA Final Four in 2009.

Lance Stephenson charged with assault

Mike Wells of the Indianapolis Star reports:

Lance Stephenson charged with assault

Just days after feeling good about making what they think is their best trade in years, the Pacers were knocked down Sunday when rookie guard Lance Stephenson was arrested and charged with third-degree assault after he allegedly pushed his girlfriend down a flight of stairs in Brooklyn, N.Y., early Sunday.

“We have been made aware of a situation involving Lance Stephenson early Sunday morning in Brooklyn,” Pacers president Larry Bird said in a statement released from the team. “We are currently in the process of gathering information and will have further comments as we learn more facts.” …

Stephenson was charged with sexual abuse for allegedly groping a girl at a bus stop near his high school in New York his senior year. The charge was dismissed and he ended up pleading to a lesser charge of disorderly conduct.

John Lauinger of the New York Daily News reports:

Stephenson, 19, a legendary player at Brooklyn’s Abraham Lincoln High School, roughed up Jasmine Williams, 21, at her Brooklyn apartment building about 5 a.m., police said.

The 6-foot-5 rookie point guard’s cowardly shove sent Williams – the mother of Stephenson’s child – tumbling headfirst down 10 steps, requiring her to be treated at a hospital for injuries to her head and neck, cops said…

He was also booked on charges of third-degree assault, harassment and menacing. Prosecutors added a charge of criminal possession of a weapon, but a spokesman could not specify what the weapon was.


March 09 2010: Cincinnati's guard Lance Stephenson (33) pushes the ball up court in the second half of first round Big East Tournament games between the Rutgers Scarlet Knights and the Cincinnati Bearcats at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Cincinnati defeated Rutgers 69-68.