Foyle Continues To Be Big Man On Little Campus
The line of cynics was long and loud when Adonal Foyle announced he was going to attend Colgate.
People couldn’t believe one of the best high school players in the country was going to give up a chance to attend a school that would greatly enhance his basketball future, like Syracuse or Duke.
Not many opinions have changed as Foyle reaches the midway point of his sophomore season. Especially not Foyle’s.
“Being a basketball-academic person has been much harder than I anticipated,” the 6-foot-10 Foyle said last week. “There’s a level of commitment that has to go into both that is tremendously difficult.”
He’s handled both pretty well. On the court, he’s averaging 18 points and 13 rebounds and is on pace to better his five blocked shots per game last season, the third-best mark for a freshman. In the classroom, Foyle said a 3.75 grade-point average last semester pulled his overall grade up to just above 3.5.
“I’ve thought about what it would be like if I could concentrate solely on basketball, like playing in the NBA, but then I also think of how I am enjoying the education I am receiving and the social life I am in,” he said.
“There’s still lots of room for improvement on the court as anyone who has seen me play can see. Being the center of attention on a team like this can only help me. I have absolutely no second thoughts about not going to a big basketball school, but as a player, you always have those thoughts and I entertain them as anyone would. You can’t be naive enough to think playing in the Patriot League is the same as playing at those schools, and I have an intense summer program that I think helps make up for that.”
Life saver
Jason Granger had started every game for Hawaii-Hilo this season until last Monday night. He couldn’t play against Hawaii-Pacific and his reason was the best anybody could ever give. He was nursing cuts on his feet after saving a child’s life at a beach park.
Granger, a 6-6 senior from Vancouver, Wash., and several friends were picnicking last Sunday when they heard thrashing in one of the park’s smaller ponds.
“We saw a little kid’s head sticking out of the water,” Granger said. “All we saw were the eyes and the top of his head.”
Granger jumped into the murky, waist-deep water and pulled the boy out.
With the help of the lifeguards, the child was taken to Hilo Hospital. Granger said he was told by a nurse that “we got him here just in time.”
The boy was released in good condition later in the day.
Granger, who averages 8.6 points and 4.4 rebounds, punctured his right heel and slashed his left heel on sharp objects in the moss-covered pond.
After the Vulcans lost, Granger missed the next game as well.
Class act
Just as every school with an All-America candidate does, Wake Forest sends out a periodic update on how center Tim Duncan is doing this season.
The one-page release lets you know Duncan’s statistics, the Demon Deacons’ accomplishments and what opposing coaches have to say about the 6-11 junior.
It also lists how Duncan fared in the classroom. He had a 2.7 grade point average and his course load included: “Advanced French,” “World Civilizations,” and two in his major field of psychology - “Research Methods of Psychology” and “Study of Narcissism.”
Honest Hurley
One of the most candid players in all college basketball is Seton Hall senior guard Danny Hurley. Whether he was talking about his year off from the game for personal reasons or his life as the younger brother of Bobby Hurley, Danny Hurley has always spoken his mind.
On Wednesday, Hurley was held below 10 points for the first time this season in the Pirates’ 66-63 victory over Miami, a game in which he shot 2 for 12 from the field.
Hurley was asked for a comment about the Hurricanes after the game.
“Their uniforms are ugly and they play great defense, so I hate them.”