9803120099
DETROIT FREE PRESS
980312
Thursday, March 12, 1998
METRO FINAL
1D
MITCH ALBOM
Copyright (c) 1998, Detroit Free Press
DON'T SELL EARL SHORT; HE'S BOUND TO BE BIG!
It's Earl's World now.
I see Earl Shirts and Earl Shorts. I see Earl Shoes and Earl Laces. I see
Earl-y Bird Specials and Earl-y Breakfast Combos, with Earl Toast and Earl Jam
-- not the kind of jam you usually talk about in basketball, although he can
do that, too. Well, he says he can jam. Says he dunked once or twice back in
high school, just to show the guys he could. But now, he sighs, "I don't
really see the point. Why risk hurting myself for two points? I can get two
points with a lay-up."
You see that? Logic. That's an Earl Trait, too. He's Logic-earl.
Wait. I gotta write that down.
Get ready, folks. Earl-y Days and Earl-y Nights. Can't you feel the headlines
simmering for this guy? Oh, sure, he's low to the ground. Sure, the top of his
head is just 65 inches above earth. But has any player soared more in recent
weeks in the state of Michigan? Has any player been held in -- and you'll note
my choice of words here -- higher esteem?
Earl Boykins, with 89 points in three tournament games, has led Eastern
Michigan to the golden arches, the gateway to glory, the NCAA Big Dance.
Tonight it begins. The Eagles take on Michigan State. I have watched a lot of
basketball. I can smell a star a mountain away. I see Earl coming over the
mountain.
Wait. Earl Comes Over the Mountain. Good marketing slogan.
I gotta write that down.
"If he were 6-foot-3 . . ." I say to his coach, Milton Barnes.
"If he were 6-foot-3," Barnes interrupts, "he'd be the best player in the
country."
The best in the country? Well. Consider that, at 5-feet-5, one of America's
shortest college guards, Earl is still the second-leading scorer in the
nation, averaging 26 points a game. He leads his conference in scoring and
three-pointers. He owns his school's career assist record, and with a good
game tonight will own its career scoring mark as well.
This is a rhapsody in the making. A soon-to-be national story. I want in on
the ground floor.
Wait. That could be his nickname. "Earl -- the Ground Floor."
I gotta write that down.
Bring on the Spartans
Can you imagine if Eastern knocks off Michigan State tonight and advances to
play Princeton or UNLV, maybe upsets one of them as well? The story will be
Nation-earl. You can almost predict the headlines. The New York Times will
write: "Diminutive Guard Leads Unlikely Team." The Washington Post will write:
"Boykins, Same Height as Monica Lewinsky, Leads EMU." USA Today will write:
"Earl Is One Of US."
The embrace will widen. And why not? Isn't this just the kind of guy
basketball needs? Let's face it, fans feel less and less connected to this
sport, at the college and certainly at the NBA level. These guys are so rich,
so aloof, so arrogant, so ...big.
But not Earl. He is up to your lapel and nearer your heart. He plays with
ferocity but maintains a quiet, unassuming manner. He is not Napoleon. He sees
nothing wrong with being 5-5.
"When I guard bigger guys, they stop playing their usual game," he says,
sitting on a wooden box in a gym, looking very much like a student. "Big guys
spend most of their time trying to push me around and bump me. They try to
post me up. They think it's an individual battle.
"I throw them off. It's my advantage. If I were 6-foot-1, they'd probably play
better against me."
When life gives you lemons, make Lemon-earl.
I gotta write that down.
Bring on the world
This is a story with unlimited potential, the son of an Ohio cop who learned
the game from his dad, his role model. This is a kid who fights against
stereotype. When he was cut by the USA Basketball squad during tryouts a few
years ago, Earl asked why. They said they were afraid he wouldn't handle
taller players in international competition. What did he do? He came back the
next year and led the United States to a gold medal in the World University
Games. Now they're talking about drafting him second round in the NBA.
Earl's World.
Forget Spud Webb. Forget Muggsy Bogues. Earl didn't look to them when he was
growing up. "My game wasn't like theirs. I was more like Isiah Thomas."
So imagine another Isiah -- in a smaller shoe size. Imagine that kind of
tenacious play, quickness, sharp-shooting, ball-control. Then imagine a
sweet-smiling kid who, the other night, at his senior banquet, surprised
everyone by taking the microphone and thanking his teammates individually for
what they had done for him during his EMU career.
He also prodded each one lightly to become a better player.
I see David Letterman posting him up. I see Jerry Springer doing a show, "My
6-foot Sister Is in Love With a Shorter Man!" I see Oprah shouting, "You go,
Earl!"
I see America falling in love, round by round, with a guy who makes us feel
that all things are possible, even when we're told they're not. Call Earl
Klugh. Call Earl Scheib. Call Earl The Pearl and the Duke of Earl. They are in
danger of losing their name recognition.
Coming over the mountain. The Ground Floor. I don't know how far the Eagles
will go, but I know how far Earl's story could rise. This is just the
beginning, men. Just the start. This is gonna be big, really big.
So to speak.
To leave a message for Mitch Albom, call 1-313-223-4581.
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COLUMN;EARL BOYKINS;BASKETBALL;COLLEGE