2008 Woodie Awards
Where in the world is Acie Earl?
Kelly Beaton - The Daily Iowan
Issue date: 2/11/04 Section: Sports
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Acie Earl has had his share of nicknames throughout his basketball career - Big Ace, Flave. Yet, somehow those monikers just don't seem appropriate.
Rand McNally, Where's Waldo, and Conde Nast. Those seem more fitting.
Spin a globe around, close your eyes, and point. Earl has probably been there, done that, blocked six shots in a game there once.
After his four-year NBA career ran its course in the spring of 1997, the former Iowa center just couldn't bear the thought of a desk job. When you're 6-10 and 240 pounds, you're pretty much destined to do your work on a basketball court, not caged up in a cubicle.
"Would you rather work at Solomon Smith Barney for $50,000 or make money shooting a basket?" the Moline, Ill., native asked *The Daily Iowan* recently.
So now, seven years later, at age 33, Earl's still boxing out, throwing 'bows, and dropping knowledge in his usual 94-by-50 workplace. Only nowadays he toils in Serbia and Montenegro rather than homier locales such as Boston or Toronto.
"I always said I'd be done by now," Earl said from his hotel room on a recent road trip in Le Mans, France. "If I'm not playing, I feel worthless. I think the fire will be there for another couple of years."
The fire and passion Earl plays with were certainly apparent to Iowa fans throughout his days manning the paint in Iowa City from 1989-93. The lanky number 55 was voted Iowa's team MVP three-consecutive years, from 1991-93, and he ranks first in school history in blocks (365) and second in scoring (1,779 career points). As a result, he was voted to the Hawkeyes' All-Century team during the 2001-02 season.
Earl earned most of his praise from Hawkeye faithful- and respect from Hawkeye teammates- because of his shot-blocking prowess.
"He blocked pretty much everybody's shots in practice," recalled Earl's best friend, Rodell Davis, a Hawkeye teammate from 1989-92. "You always knew he'd be there waiting for you."
His penchant for sending Spaldings into the stands earned Earl 1992 Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year honors after he tallied 121 blocked shots. No Hawkeye has tallied more than 41 blocks in a season since Earl's departure.
Rand McNally, Where's Waldo, and Conde Nast. Those seem more fitting.
Spin a globe around, close your eyes, and point. Earl has probably been there, done that, blocked six shots in a game there once.
After his four-year NBA career ran its course in the spring of 1997, the former Iowa center just couldn't bear the thought of a desk job. When you're 6-10 and 240 pounds, you're pretty much destined to do your work on a basketball court, not caged up in a cubicle.
"Would you rather work at Solomon Smith Barney for $50,000 or make money shooting a basket?" the Moline, Ill., native asked *The Daily Iowan* recently.
So now, seven years later, at age 33, Earl's still boxing out, throwing 'bows, and dropping knowledge in his usual 94-by-50 workplace. Only nowadays he toils in Serbia and Montenegro rather than homier locales such as Boston or Toronto.
"I always said I'd be done by now," Earl said from his hotel room on a recent road trip in Le Mans, France. "If I'm not playing, I feel worthless. I think the fire will be there for another couple of years."
The fire and passion Earl plays with were certainly apparent to Iowa fans throughout his days manning the paint in Iowa City from 1989-93. The lanky number 55 was voted Iowa's team MVP three-consecutive years, from 1991-93, and he ranks first in school history in blocks (365) and second in scoring (1,779 career points). As a result, he was voted to the Hawkeyes' All-Century team during the 2001-02 season.
Earl earned most of his praise from Hawkeye faithful- and respect from Hawkeye teammates- because of his shot-blocking prowess.
"He blocked pretty much everybody's shots in practice," recalled Earl's best friend, Rodell Davis, a Hawkeye teammate from 1989-92. "You always knew he'd be there waiting for you."
His penchant for sending Spaldings into the stands earned Earl 1992 Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year honors after he tallied 121 blocked shots. No Hawkeye has tallied more than 41 blocks in a season since Earl's departure.
