Donnie Boyce (2021) - CU Athletic Hall of Fame - University of Colorado Athletics

Donnie Boyce

Induction:
2021
Class:
1995

He was afforded some kind of distinguished honor every year of his Colorado career: a two-time, first-team All-Big Eight Conference performer at guard as a sophomore and junior (1992-93, 1993-94; second-team as a senior, honorable mention as a freshman), a USBWA first-team All-District 7 selection as a senior (second-team as a junior) and earned Big Eight All-Freshman team honors in ’91-92 … A candidate for the prestigious John Wooden Award as a senior … A member of the Kansas City Star’s Players’ Team as a junior and senior (first-team; voted on by the players) … Most Valuable Player in the 1993-94 Mile High Classic … Participated in the trials for the 1994 Goodwill Games … Finished his career as CU’s all-time leading scorer with 1,995 points, which still ranks third all-time; he was set reach the 2,000-point plateau but suffered a broken leg in the first half of CU’s 71-53 loss to Oklahoma in the first round of the 1995 Big Eight postseason tournament (he thus missed the Buffs’ first round NIT game at New Mexico) … He also exited as CU’s all-time leader in games started (107), field goals attempted (1,648), free throws made (480) and attempted (721) … The second player in school history to lead the team in scoring for all four years of his career (joining Emmett Lewis, 1976-79; Richard Roby later did it from 2005-08) … He averaged 14.9 points per game as a freshman, 19.1 as a sophomore, 22.4 as a junior (the third-highest mark for a single-season at CU) and 18.5 as a senior; he averaged 18.8 points per game over his career … Scored a career-high 46 points in the ’94 regular season finale at Oklahoma State (second-most ever in a single game by a Buff) and had five career 30-plus point performances (he tied the school record for most points in a half with 31 in the first half in that OSU game) … Also led the team in assists his sophomore through senior seasons and twice led the team in steals … He led the Big Eight in scoring in conference games as a junior with an impressive 26.8 points per game … He was a second round pick (42nd overall) by the Atlanta Hawks in the 1995 National Basketball Association draft … The leg injury delayed his pro debut until March of the following season; he had a short career in the NBA, appearing in 30 total games for Atlanta over the 1995-96 and 1996-97 seasons (started two games and scored 79 total points) … He signed as a free agent with the San Antonio Spurs but never appeared in a game … He would go on to play overseas, in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) and the United States Basketball League (USBL) before retiring as a professional in 2006 … Entered the coaching profession at his high school alma mater, Proviso East, where he has been the school’s head coach since 2011, sans the 2015-16 season when he was an assistant for the Texas Legends in the NBA’s Developmental League … … His first team at Proviso went 32-1 (ironically the school’s record when he was a senior in ’90-91), losing in the state final, with his second team taking third place; he has a 204-78 record in nine seasons with two of his players in the NBA (Jevon Carter, Phoenix and Sterling Brown, Houston) … He was born September 2, 1973 in Chicago and has an adult son, Andre.