Acie Boyd Earl (born June 23, 1970) is an American former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player, who appeared in four

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

(NBA) seasons, as a ,

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

. He also played many seasons in Europe.

High school/college

Born in Peoria, Illinois, Earl was a star basketball player from

Moline High School Moline High School is a public four-year high school located in Moline, Illinois, a city in Rock Island County, in the Midwest area of the United States. The school is the only public high school in the city of Moline, and is part of Moline-Coa ...

playing varsity-level basketball for three seasons. He led the Maroons to a 23–4 record in 1988, along with future NFL All-Pro

Brad Hopkins Bradley D. Hopkins (born September 5, 1970) is a former American football player. He played left tackle for 13 seasons in the National Football League (NFL), all of them with the Houston Oilers/Tennessee Titans organization. Early years Hopkins ...

. Earl is currently the seventh leading all-time scorer in Moline basketball history. Earl played

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

at the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized into 12 col ...

, being a key recruit for Tom Davis' Hawkeyes. He appeared in 22 games in his first-year season, with an average of 6 points in 16 minutes, but still managed 50 blocked shots in limited playing time. In his second season, Earl became a key force in the

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

, averaging 16.3 points and 6.7

rebounds 'Rebound' is a term used in sports to describe the ball (or puck or other object of play) becoming available for possession by either opponent after an attempt to put the ball or puck into the goal has been unsuccessful. Rebounds are generally ...

per game, with 106 total blocked shots. Iowa made it to the 1991 NCAA Tournament where they were defeated by eventual champions

Duke Blue Devils The Duke Blue Devils are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Duke University, located in Durham, North Carolina. Duke's athletics department features 27 varsity teams that all compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association ...

in the second round. In his junior year, Earl slightly improved his numbers (managing to block an average of four shots a game), while the college made it to the 1992 NCAA Tournament, only to lose, again in the second round and against Duke (also the eventual winners), 75–62, with Earl blocking 8 shot attempts, one shy of the all-time tournament record held by

David Robinson David Maurice Robinson (born August 6, 1965) is an American former professional basketball player who played for the San Antonio Spurs in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1989 to 2003, and minority owner of the Spurs. Nicknamed ...

. With Earl still putting up strong numbers in 1992–93, Iowa again lost in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, now to Wake Forest. Earl graduated as the 1992 Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, and upon graduation held the Iowa career record with 358 blocked shots, and was second in total points scored with 1779 (after

Roy Marble Roy Lane Marble, Jr. (December 13, 1966 – September 11, 2015) was an American professional basketball player, 6'6" tall, who played as a swingman (shooting guard/small forward). After playing four seasons at the University of Iowa from 1985 t ...

). He received his undergraduate degree in the fall of 1992 with a degree in

Leisure studies Leisure studies is a branch of the social sciences that focuses on understanding and analyzing leisure. Recreation and tourism are common topics of leisure research. The National Recreation and Park Association is the national organization in ...

. Earl now lives near his alma mater in Iowa City Iowa.

Professional career

Earl was selected in the first round of the

1993 NBA draft The 1993 NBA draft took place on June 30, 1993, at The Palace of Auburn Hills in Auburn Hills, Michigan. The draft had some talented players at the top, but injuries and personal problems hurt many of them. Chris Webber, Penny Hardaway, Allan Hou ...

by the Boston Celtics with the 19th pick, in a year which included

Chris Webber Mayce Edward Christopher Webber III (born March 1, 1973) is an American former professional basketball player. Drafted number one overall by the Orlando Magic, though arguably best known and remembered as the star forward for the Sacramento Ki ...

, Jamal Mashburn and

Penny Hardaway Anfernee Deon "Penny" Hardaway (born July 18, 1971) is an American college basketball coach and former professional player who is the head coach of the Memphis Tigers men's basketball team in the American Athletic Conference (AAC). Hardaway pla ...

. He played 74 games in his rookie season, averaging 5.5 points and 3.3 rebounds per game. His statistics dropped in his second year, as he played in only 30 games, and was subsequently selected by the

Toronto Raptors The Toronto Raptors are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Toronto. The Raptors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. They play their home games a ...

in the 1995 NBA expansion draft after the Celtics left him unprotected. With the Raptors, he posted his best statistical season, scoring 7.5 points per game, adding 3.1 rebounds. On April 12, 1996, against the team that drafted him—the Celtics—Earl posted a

double-double In basketball, a double-double is a single-game performance in which a player accumulates ten or more in two of the following five statistical categories: points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocked shots. The first "double" in the term ...

, with 40 points and 12 rebounds in a 136–108 loss. Midway through 1996–97, he was traded to the

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded in 1968 ...

, appearing in nine games in his final NBA season. Subsequently, Earl took his game overseas, first appearing for

Paris Basket Racing Paris Basket Racing, or PBR, was a French professional basketball club from Paris. It was founded in 1922, as the basketball section of the multi-sports club Racing Club de Paris. The team took the name "Paris Basket Racing" in 2000. In 2007, the ...

(

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

), also playing 21 games in Australia for the National Basketball League's Sydney Kings in 1998–99.Kings emerge from a pack of jokers
/ref> In 1998, he also played with the Continental Basketball Association's

La Crosse Bobcats The La Crosse Bobcats were a Continental Basketball Association basketball team located in La Crosse, Wisconsin, from 1996 to the league's bankruptcy in February 2001. The Bobcats were the second CBA team located in La Crosse; previously, the La C ...

. He then represented Türk Telekom Ankara and Darussafaka Istanbul Spor Kulubu (

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

Unics Kazan BC UNICS (russian: БК УНИКС) is a professional basketball club in Kazan, Russia, that plays in the VTB United League, and formerly played in the EuroLeague. On February 28, 2022, EuroLeague Basketball suspended the team because of the 202 ...

and Saratov Autodor (

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

Śląsk Wrocław Wrocławski Klub Sportowy Śląsk Wrocław Spółka Akcyjna, commonly known as WKS Śląsk Wrocław, Śląsk Wrocław () or simply Śląsk, is a Polish football club based in Wrocław that plays in Ekstraklasa, the highest level of the Polish f ...

(

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

), Traiskirchen Arkadia Lions (

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

) and

KK Budućnost Podgorica KK, K.K., kK, k.k., or other sequences of two k's with or without punctuation may refer to: Arts and media *KK, the production code for the 1967 ''Doctor Who'' serial ''The Faceless Ones'' * "KK" (song), a 2014 song by Wiz Khalifa * Kk. or Kirk ...

(

Montenegro ) , image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Podgorica , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , official_languages = M ...

), retiring in 2004. He also had a small stint for

KB Peja Klubi i Basketbollit Peja (English: ''Basketball Club Peja'') is a Kosovar professional basketball club based in Pejë. The club currently plays in the Kosovo Basketball Superleague. KB Peja has won 6 National Championships, 4 Kosovo Basketball ...

, in

Kosovo Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...

, helping the team become state champions. Moving into coaching, Earl managed, during 2005, the

Tijuana Dragons Tijuana ( ,"Tijuana"
(US) and < ...

, an American Basketball Association (ABA) team based in

Tijuana Tijuana ( ,"Tijuana"
(US) and < ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

NBA career statistics

Regular season

, - , align="left" , 1993–94 , align="left" ,

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, 74 , , 8 , , 15.5 , , .406 , , .000 , , .675 , , 3.3 , , 0.2 , , 0.3 , , 0.7 , , 5.5 , - , align="left" , 1994–95 , align="left" ,

, 30 , , 3 , , 6.9 , , .382 , , .000 , , .483 , , 1.5 , , 0.1 , , 0.2 , , 0.3 , , 2.2 , - , align="left" , 1995–96 , align="left" ,

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

, 42 , , 7 , , 15.6 , , .424 , , .000 , , .719 , , 3.1 , , 0.6 , , 0.4 , , 0.9 , , 7.5 , - , align="left" , 1996–97 , align="left" ,

, 38 , , 0 , , 12.0 , , .376 , , .000 , , .629 , , 2.2 , , 0.5 , , 0.3 , , 0.7 , , 4.3 , - , align="left" , 1996–97 , align="left" ,

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee ...

, 9 , , 0 , , 4.8 , , .348 , , .000 , , .714 , , 1.2 , , 0.2 , , 0.3 , , 0.1 , , 2.9 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 193 , , 18 , , 13.0 , , .403 , , .000 , , .667 , , 2.7 , , 0.3 , , 0.3 , , 0.7 , , 5.1

Playoffs

, - , align="left" , 1994–95 , align="left" ,

, 1 , , 0 , , 10.0 , , .333 , , .000 , , .000 , , 2.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 1.0 , , 2.0

References

External links