Kevin Boyle (basketball)

Kevin Boyle (born June 15, 1960) is the vice president of commercial insurance for Lincoln Savings Bank in Reinbeck, Iowa. Before joining Lincoln Savings in 1998, Boyle was on the Iowa Hawkeyes men's basketball team from 1978 to 1982. With Iowa, Boyle and his team reached the third place game of the 1980 NCAA Division I Basketball Tournament. Between 1980 and 1982, he was a two time steals season record and a one time assists season record holder for Iowa. After becoming their Most Valuable Player in 1982, Boyle left the Hawkeyes that year with 1,189 career points.

While with Iowa, Boyle won gold at the 1981 Summer Universiade with the United States basketball team. That year, Boyle was named the USA Basketball Male Athlete of the Year. As part of the Amateur Athletic Union, Boyle won the state championship with Converse-Airliner in 1983. For his overseas experience, Boyle played basketball in England, France and Switzerland during the 1980s. During his time period, Boyle won the 1986 Swiss Cup with Geneva. Apart from playing, Boyle worked at the University of Northern Iowa as an assistant coach and a color commentator during the 1980s to 2020s.

Early life and education

Boyle was born in Evergreen Park, Illinois on June 15, 1960.[1] Growing up, Boyle lived with his parents and seven siblings.[2] Boyle's father worked for Nabisco when he and his family moved to St. Louis for his job.[3] In 1975, Boyle started his four-year education with St. Laurence High School in Burbank, Illinois.[4]

During this time period, Boyle attended De Smet Jesuit High School in St. Louis, Missouri for less than a month. After transferring back to St. Laurence for the rest of his high school education, Boyle lived in Chicago while his family lived in St. Louis.[5][6] While in Chicago, Boyle lived with his coach and his basketball teammates during three separate occasions.[7][8]

In 1977, Boyle was the highest scorer during the Class AA boys' basketball tournament held by the Illinois High School Association with 76 points. During the tournament, Boyle and St. Laurence finished in fourth place.[9][10] That year, Boyle was co-named Most Valuable Player for St. Laurence with Jim Stack.[11] Boyle was also MVP from 1977 to 1978 as a member of the Chicago Catholic League.[12]

University

In 1978, Boyle joined the University of Iowa and played mainly as a forward for the Iowa Hawkeyes men's basketball team.[13][14] During 1980, Boyle played as a guard while he filled in for Ronnie Lester while Lester was injured.[15] At the third place game during the 1980 NCAA Division I Basketball Tournament, Boyle and Iowa were defeated by Purdue.[16][17] Boyle was diagnosed with tendonitis after injuring his wrist during a game with Iowa in 1982. Following his injury, Boyle said the athletic tape he wore for his wrist "restricted my motion, my follow-through especially".[18]

With Iowa, Boyle held the season record in steals from 1980 to 1981 and the assists season record in 1982.[19] In 1981, he was named First-team All-Big Ten. In 1982, Boyle was a co-winner of the Best Defensive Player Award and the sole Most Valuable Player as part of his awards for Iowa that year.[20] After leaving the Hawkeyes in 1982 with 118 career games, Boyle had 674 rebounds and 482 field goals as part of his 1,189 points.[21]

Career

Playing career

While with Iowa, Boyle won gold with the United States basketball team at the 1981 Summer Universiade.[22] By April 1982, Boyle had also traveled to Argentina and other parts of the world for his basketball career.[23] During the 1982 NBA draft, Boyle was selected by the Philadelphia 76ers during the sixth round.[24] After the 76ers cut Boyle from the team, he went to England for his overseas basketball career.[25] In October 1982, Boyle joined the National Basketball League as part of the Bracknell Pirates.[26]

When Boyle was told a family member was in a car accident in January 1983, Boyle left England to go back to the United States.[27] That month, Boyle ended his point guard experience with the Pirates as he was unhappy with the training he received and the lack of a contract.[28] As a basketball player in the Amateur Athletic Union, Boyle won the state championship with Converse-Airliner.[29][30] In July 1983, Boyle was with the San Diego Clippers during the Summer Pro League.[31][32] He also trained with the Houston Rockets during their preseason in October 1983.[33]

The following year, Boyle joined the Continental Basketball Association.[34] With the CBA, Boyle was originally signed with the Bay State Bombardiers before he was traded to the Sarasota Stingers. After being cut from the Stingers, Boyle returned to the Bombardiers before being cut from Bay State in February 1984.[35] By mid-1984, Boyle returned to Iowa to play basketball in exhibition games.[36]

For his basketball experience in France, Boyle had gone to Hagetmau by the end of 1984.[37] In 1985, Boyle played basketball in Doazit. He then went to Switzerland the following year after he declined a temporary arranged marriage proposed to him by a French basketball team.[38] In Switzerland, Boyle and Geneva were the 1986 Swiss Cup winners. Boyle was also a coach while playing in Europe.[34]

Northern Iowa and banking career

While in Switzerland, Boyle wanted to work with Eldon Miller at the University of Northern Iowa as part of the Northern Iowa Panthers.[39] Boyle had previously turned down an offer to play college basketball for Miller at Ohio State University. In 1986, Boyle joined Northern Iowa as an assistant basketball coach.[40] He also worked in college recruiting during his coaching tenure at Northern Iowa.[41] Boyle remained in his coaching position until 1998 when he went to Reinbeck, Iowa to work for Lincoln Savings Bank.[42][43] While at Northern Iowa, Boyle was a candidate to become the head coach of their men's basketball team in 1998 after Miller stepped down from the position.[44]

Boyle was an insurance agent for Lincoln Savings when he also started working as a color commentator on the radio during basketball games for Northern Iowa in 2001.[45] Leading up to the 2020s, Boyle continued working at Lincoln Savings as their vice president of commercial insurance while also continuing his radio commentating position with Northern Iowa.[46][47] In 2022, Boyle stated he would end his radio position with Northern Iowa when the season ended.[42]

Honors and personal life

Boyle was called a "bionic man" by Norm Sloan, who coached the North Carolina State basketball team, during a tournament held the NCAA in 1980.[48] In 1981, Boyle was the USA Basketball Male Athlete of the Year.[49] After Boyle completed his time at Iowa, Boyle received an athletic scholarship from the university in 1982.[50] In 2018, Boyle was named into a Hall of Fame by the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association.[4] Boyle married during the 1980s.[36]

References
  1. "Kevin Boyle Stats". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved March 4, 2022.
  2. Schoffner, Chuck (April 13, 1982). "Kevin Boyle satisfied with Iowa career". Iowa City Press-Citizen. Associated Press. p. 3B.
  3. Dorr, Dave (November 24, 1981). "Kevin Boyle — The Best 'Gamer' In Big Ten Basketball". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. p. 3C.
  4. "Kevin Boyle". Basketball Museum of Illinois. Retrieved March 4, 2022.
  5. Sonderegger, John (November 30, 1979). "Junior Bills Get Independent Vote". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. p. 6C.
  6. Butler, Tom (January 16, 1982). "Boyle helps 'stack' deck for Hawkeyes". Wisconsin State Journal. sec. 2 p. 1.
  7. "Player leaves family". The Edwardsville Intelligencer. Associated Press. March 19, 1977. p. 8.
  8. Schrader, Gus (January 25, 1980). "Hawks bounce back behind Boyle". The Gazette. Cedar Rapids, Iowa. p. 3B.
  9. "IHSA's March Madness -- 1977 Class AA Boys". Illinois High School Association. Retrieved March 4, 2022.
  10. "DeLaSalle tops St. Laurence". The Sunday Pantagraph. March 20, 1977. p. B-1.
  11. Lynch, Bernie (April 6, 1977). "Vikings are honored". Southend Reporter. sec. II p. 10.
  12. "Hawks sign Boyle". Iowa City Press-Citizen. April 18, 1978. p. 1B.
  13. "Hawkeyes sign cage standout". Muscatine Journal. Associated Press. April 18, 1978. p. 9.
  14. "Iowa cagers hustle well at Tama". Iowa City Press-Citizen. Associated Press. November 2, 1978. p. 3B.
  15. Dyer, Bob (January 4, 1980). "Ailing Boyle makes Illini look sick". Des Moines Tribune. p. 13.
  16. "'We didn't come out with fire in eyes' —Boyle". Des Moines Tribune. Associated Press. March 25, 1980. p. 14.
  17. "Coaches honor Olson". Color Country Spectrum. United Press International. March 25, 1980. p. 8.
  18. Schoffner, Chuck (April 11, 1982). "Boyle, fans part of a mutual admiration society". The Cedar Rapids Gazette. Associated Press. pp. 8C.
  19. Weitzel, Mike; Roe, Steve; Wagner, Traci, eds. (October 2021). "Iowa Basketball 2021-22 Media Guide" (PDF). University of Iowa Athletics. The University of Iowa Athletic Department. p. 113. Retrieved March 27, 2022.
  20. Grady, Al (April 2, 1982). "Bolye wins MVP honor; Gannon Hansen picked as co-captains". Iowa City Press-Citizen. p. 1B.
  21. "1,000 Point Club". University of Iowa Athletics. July 30, 2004. Men's Basketball. Retrieved March 4, 2022.
  22. Denney, Bob (January 5, 1982). "Boyle impressed amateur officials". The Cedar Rapids Gazette. p. 3C.
  23. Smith, Russ L. (April 21, 1982). "Marriage only sure plan for Boyle now". Waterloo Courier. p. C—1.
  24. "Draft History | Stats". National Basketball Association. 1982. p. 2. Retrieved March 4, 2022.
  25. "Ex-Hawk Boyle playing in England". The Des Moines Register. October 21, 1982. p. 4S.
  26. "Pirates on Road Back". Evening Post. Reading, Berkshire, England. October 23, 1982. p. 12.
  27. "Skipper blow for Pirates". Evening Post. January 17, 1983. p. 12.
  28. Zavoral, Nolan (January 27, 1983). "Merry old England wasn't so merry for Boyle". Iowa City Press-Citizen. p. 1B.
  29. "Norman, Earl fuel Airliner". The Des Moines Register. The Register's Iowa News Service. March 14, 1983. p. 2S.
  30. "Airliner wins title". Cedar Rapids Gazette. March 15, 1983. p. 2c.
  31. "Elsewhere in sport...". The Des Moines Register. July 28, 1983. p. 3S.
  32. "Clippers cut former-Hawk Boyle". Iowa City Press-Citizen. Associated Press. August 18, 1983. p. 3B.
  33. "Sampson Aims High". The Herald. Provo, Utah. October 5, 1983. p. 7.
  34. Smith, Russ L. (May 13, 1986). "Boyle hustles into job as Panther assistant". The Courier. Waterloo, Iowa. p. C1.
  35. Hlas, Mike (February 19, 1984). "Boyle has had a bumpy ride in pro basketball". The Cedar Rapids Gazette. p. 9B.
  36. Heyman, Jon (June 17, 1984). "Kevin Boyle still bouncing around". The Dispatch. Moline, Illinois. p. 14.
  37. Grady, Al (December 17, 1984). "Catching up with Hawks gone by". Iowa City Press-Citizen. p. 1B.
  38. Hersh, Phil (March 31, 1986). "NBA's Rejects Get Their Second Wind in Europe". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved May 24, 2022.
  39. Maly, Ron (July 6, 1986). "Boyle takes worldly route to UNI staff". The Des Moines Register. p. 2D.
  40. Koolbeck, Mike (May 13, 1986). "Ex-Iowa star Boyle joins Miller at UNI". The Gazette. Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
  41. Doxale, Don (March 9, 1990). "Boyle gets new thrill". Quad-City Times. p. 33.
  42. "Kevin Boyle announces retirement as Northern Iowa men's basketball radio analyst". Des Moines Register. March 9, 2022. Retrieved May 24, 2022.
  43. "People in Business". Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier. November 29, 1998. p. B2.
  44. Brown, Rick (April 16, 1998). "UNI chooses Weaver as coach". The Des Moines Register. p. 1S.
  45. Martin, Amanda (May 22, 2004). "Where are they now? Kevin Boyle". The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier. Retrieved March 4, 2022.
  46. "Boyle, Former Hawkeye, Speaks To Rotary Club". The Poweshiek County Chronicle Republican. May 10, 2017. p. 5.
  47. Doxsie, Don (March 21, 2020). "The 1980 Hawkeyes: Where are they now?". The Quad-City Times. Retrieved March 4, 2022.
  48. "'Bionic' Boyle key to Hawks". Sioux City Journal. Associated Press. March 8, 1980. p. A 8.
  49. "USA Basketball Annual Awards". USA Basketball. Archived from the original on March 13, 2015. Retrieved March 4, 2022.
  50. "Boyle awarded scholarship". Iowa City Press-Citizen. August 31, 1982. p. 3B.
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