New EMU coach wasn't everyone's top choice; he plans to win them over
In hiring Billy Donlon as its next men's basketball coach, Eastern Michigan chose an outsider over the preferred pick of many of the boosters, favorite son Earl Boykins.
Ypsilanti — When Billy Donlon was being recruited out of Chicagoland in the mid-1990s, one of the schools that wanted him was Eastern Michigan. One problem. Eastern had its No.
1 point guard, a kid named Earl Boykins. Then-head coach Ben Braun wanted Donlon to be the No. 2 guard.
And that wasn't a good fit for Donlon, or the Eagles. "I didn't tell Coach Braun this, but that ended the recruitment," Donlon said. "Because I played two in high school, and I wouldn't have been good enough to be the starter, the backup or even the walk-on at Eastern Michigan.
" So Donlon, went onto play at UNC-Wilmington, and Boykins went onto lead Eastern Michigan to two NCAA Tournament appearances, in 1996, when the Eagles stunned Duke, and 1998. Last week, Donlon eventually found his way back to Eastern Michigan, as its 31st head men's basketball coach . And in landing the job, Donlon beat out several other top candidates, including, interestingly, Boykins, an assistant coach at Southern Cal who was the preferred choice by many boosters.
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