Dig deeper into Adonal's mind! Check out Ten Random Thoughts!
Here are your questions for Adonal...
How did you get your name?
My godmother gave it to me.
Do you have any nicknames?
My NBA teammates call me "O.D.", and in college I was called "Freddy".
What's your favorite basketball moment from college?
Winning the Patriot League Championship two consecutive years and representing the Patriot League in the NCAA tournament.
What is your biggest athletic thrill?
Competing against the best in the world.
What is the most gratifying and challenging thing about being a professional basketball player?
Remembering that I have a job that many people would love to have, and remembering that my actions on and off the court are watched by other people including children.
Who is your basketball mentor?
Clifford Ray (the Warriors assistant coach) and Jay Mandle (my step-father).
Who is your favorite player in basketball history?
Wilt Chamberlain and Michael Jordan.
What's your favorite area on the court to shoot from:
90 Degree angle for the bank shot.
What is the most difficult thing you have had to overcome as an NBA player?
Being a Rookie - playing against the people you watch on TV and hear so much about in the media is tough to get used to.
What advice do you have for youth basketball players?
Always try to maintain a winning spirit in the classroom as well as on the athletic field - and above all believe that you can be a good student as well as a good athlete.
Do you have any pre-game rituals?
I take a nap and listen to Caribbean music to get my energy flowing.
What's your favorite city to play in?
New York.
What's your favorite restaurant on the road?
Bukom Café, Washington DC.
What's your favorite off-the-court activity?
Reading and writing.
What is your favorite way to spend a night off from basketball?
Go to the movies or watch a play.
How do you like to spend the NBA off-season?
Travelling to different cultures.
Name one place you hope to visit one day:
Africa.
What was your first pet?
A dog called Blackie.
When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?
Lawyer and teacher.
What was your favorite toy as a kid?
Two mango seed attached to each other called a "Von Von".
What was the one house rule you disliked as a child?
Never questioning authority.
What do you miss most about being a kid?
Being irresponsible.
What was the first meal you cooked on your own?
Rice and corned beef.
What is your favorite home-cooked meal?
Stewed beef, rice and peas.
What was the best advice your mother gave you for basketball?
Take good care of your body!
What is the best piece of advice you received and from whom?
My grandmother told me to always be humble.
What is your favorite pre-game meal?
Macaroni and cheese with chicken.
What is your favorite meal?
Cook-up boiling [also known as "poor man's stew" - it is a broth made up of whatever is available in the kitchen].
What is your favorite vegetable?
Artichokes.
What is your favorite fruit?
Mango.
What's your favorite drink?
Vita malt (Caribbean soda).
What's your favorite junk food?
Shirley Biscuits from the Caribbean.
What's your favorite ice cream flavor?
Rum and raisin.
What's your favorite candy?
Werther's Original Butterscotch.
What's your favorite ice cream flavor?
Mango Sorbet.
What's your favorite cartoon character?
Yogi Bear.
What's your favorite day of the week?
Sunday.
What is your favorite time of the year?
Christmas.
What's your favorite car?
Lincoln Navigator.
What's your favorite color?
Blue.
What's your favorite number:
31.
What's your favorite vacation spot?
Europe.
What's your favorite animal?
The donkey (I used to have one called Country).
What is your favorite sport to play other than basketball?
Racketball.
What is your favorite TV show?
The Practice.
What is your favorite movie?
Braveheart.
What was the first movie that you watched on the big screen?
Sister Act.
What's your favorite animated movie?
The Lion King.
Who's your favorite actress?
Whoopi Goldberg.
Who's your favorite actor?
Harrison Ford.
What's your favorite book?
Fountainhead.
What's your all-time favorite CD?
Forrest Gump.
Who is your favorite group/singer?
BoysIIMen and Jesse Norman.
What's your favorite type of music?
Reggae, Soca, and Classical.
What was the best concert you have been to?
Jimmy Cliff in concert at Syracuse - my parents and I showed up for it four hours early!
What's your favorite college sports team?
Colgate - I am loyal!
What's your favorite NFL Team?
Phildelphia Eagles.
What's your favorite sport to watch?
Track & field and tennis.
What athlete would you pay to see?
Michael Jordan (Basketball), Michael Johnson (Track & Field), Carl Lewis (Track & Field), Brian Lara (Cricket), Pele (Soccer), Williams sisters (Tennis) and Martina Navaratilova (Tennis).
What's your favorite place in the world?
The Caribbean.
What's your favorite place in the San Francisco Bay Area?
Jack London Square in Oakland, and the Golden Gate Park in San Francisco.
What's your favorite Restaurant in the San Francisco Bay Area?
Too many to name, but I will have to go with the North Beach Restaurant.
What was your favorite year in history?
1833 - the abolition of slavery.
Who is a person in history (past or present) that you would like to meet?
Martin Luther King Jr., and Nelson Mandela.
What is your favorite time period in history?
The period of the Reformation in European history and the Sixties in American history.
What was your favorite course at college?
Tudor Stuart England in British History.
Who was the college professor to have made the most impact on you in college?
Professor Peter Balakian (Writing) and Professor Coleman Brown (Religion).
What was your most fun class in college?
Basic Acting.
Who was your coach at Colgate University?
Jack Bruen.
What was your favourite college moment?
Catching a ride with the girls' basketball team and watching the Sound of Music while they all sang along.
Who is your personal hero?
Jay Mandle, my step-father.
Who was your High School coach?
Tom Blackford.
What was your favorite high school class?
English and Social Studies.
Who was your favorite high school teacher?
Nan Washburn.
How would you like for people to remember you?
That I gave it to them straight - even if it hurt, and that I treated everyone with respect.
What would be the title of your autobiography?
"The doubters lost and perseverance won".
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Previous Q & A Sessions
October 2001
November 2001
December 2001
January 2002
March 2002
Summer 2003
Winter 2003
Jan-Feb 2004
March 2004
November 2007
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