Earl Boykins, a 12-year veteran in the NBA, is in his third year as an assistant coach for UTEP.
In 2021-22 he helped UTEP record its first 20-win season (20-14) since forging a record of 22-11 in 2014-15. UTEP garnered a spot in The Basketball Classic for its first postseason appearance since 2015. The Miners derailed Western Illinois, 80-54, on March 19 for their first postseason win since 2009.
UTEP went 11-7 in league play, grabbing their first winning record in conference action since registering a mark of 12-6 in 2016-17. That was aided by securing 10 of 14 down the stretch, including ending back-to-back C-USA West Division Champion North Texas’ 15-game winning streak, 70-68, on “Senior Day” on March 5. The Miners then went on to best Old Dominion, 74-64, on March 9 for their first victory at the C-USA Championships in five years.
The Miners achieved notable success on the road, accumulating their most road victories (seven) since going 8-2 in 2013-14. UTEP (5-4) had its first winning record on the road in league play since 2016-17, and the five league road wins surpassed its total (four) of such games from the prior three seasons combined.
The Miners picked up their first road win at LA Tech since 2004, at New Mexico since 2009, at ODU since 2015 and at UTSA since 2015. They also secured the first road sweep of the LA Tech and Southern Miss trip in six years.
UTEP ran off a six-game winning streak in conference play (Jan. 15 to Feb. 5), which was the longest since also posting six straight C-USA victories in 2016.
Boykins joined UTEP after serving as the director of student-athlete development at the University of Arkansas under Eric Musselman for two seasons (2019-21). The Razorbacks advanced to the 2021 Elite 8 in the NCAA Tournament.
Boykins has a history with Musselman as he played for him with the Golden State Warriors during the 2002-03 season, and while Musselman was an assistant coach for the Orland Magic (1999).
Prior to Arkansas, Boykins was an assistant coach for the Orlando Magic in the 2019 NBA Summer League.
Boykins’s head coaching experience came at Douglas County High School (Colo.) from 2013-19 where he lifted a program that was 0-18 before his arrival. He coached the team to the playoffs the last three years. In addition, he founded non-profit “Boykins Kids” and has been a lecturer on leadership.
Boykins, the second-shortest player in NBA history at 5-foot-5, dished out 2,092 assists and scored 5,791 points over his career. In fact, he is the shortest player in NBA history to score at least 30 points in a game when he poured in 32 in a 117-109 Denver Nuggets’ win over Detroit on Nov. 11, 2004.
An undrafted free agent out of college, Boykins played for the New Jersey Nets (1999), Cleveland Cavaliers (1999 and 2000), Orlando Magic (1999), Los Angeles Clippers (2000-02), Golden State Warriors (2002-03), Denver Nuggets (2003-06, 2007), Toronto Raptors (2006-07), Milwaukee Bucks (2007; 2010-11), Charlotte Bobcats (2007-08), Washington Wizards (2009-10) and Houston Rockets (2012).
In the middle of his NBA career, Boykins played one season (2008-09) in Italy and was the highest-paid player in the Italian League. Boykins lived up to the hype as he led Virtus Bologna to the 2009 EuroChallenge Cup Championship.
Boykins is arguably the best player to ever come out of Eastern Michigan University. His number (#11) was retired by EMU in 2011 and he is a member of the school’s E-Club Hall of Fame (Class of 2013).
As a senior with the Eagles, Boykins was named honorable-mention All-American and he was recipient of the 1998 Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award, which is awarded to the nation’s best collegiate player under six feet tall. The previous season, Boykins led Team USA to the 1997 World University Games gold medal and was subsequently tabbed the USA Basketball Male Athlete of the Year.
Boykins helped the Eagles win two MAC Tournament championships and they made four straight MAC Tournament championship game appearances. In both 1996 and 1998, EMU advanced to the NCAA Tournament. In 1996, the Eagles pulled off a monumental upset, defeating Duke (75-60), behind 23 points, five assists and four steals from Boykins.
He also earned All-MAC first team honors in 1997 and 1998, and, during his senior campaign, he was the second-leading scorer in the country at 26.8 points per game.
Boykins, who attended Cleveland Central Catholic HS, was named the Cleveland Plain Dealer’s high school Player of the Decade for the 1990’s among players from the newspaper’s area of Northeast Ohio.
Boykins is a 1998 graduate of Eastern Michigan with a degree in communications.