Jim Boyce
Player
1962-64
Burlington Junior College, Iowa

A native of Detroit, Mich., Jim Boyce was an All-Detroit City and All-State selection in high school from 1953-55. He entered in the U.S. Army following his prep years and competed for the All-Armed Forces basketball squad. Boyce then landed at Burlington Junior College (now known as Southeastern Community College) in West Burlington, Iowa.

Boyce led the Burlington to back-to-back NJCAA national tournament appearances in Hutchinson in 1963 and '64. He earned All-Tournament team honors both years as well as First-Team NJCAA All-American his second season and a Third-Team All-American honors as a freshman.

As a freshman he averaged 24.9 points per game during the regular season and tallied 108 points in the 1963 national tournament, leading the Blackhawks to a fourth-place finish. Boyce and teammate Bobby Joe Hill, who would later star at Texas Western, combined to score 223 points in five games.

Boyce returned for his sophomore season at Burlington and again led the Blackhawks to a fourth place finish in Hutchinson. He earned All-Tournament team honors for the second consecutive year, along with teammate Mel Daniels (1968 ABA Rookie of the Year) after scoring 100 points in five games, including a 33-point effort against Lon Morris (Texas) to secure fourth place. His 208 points scored currently ranks eighth all-time in the 64-year history of the national tournament. 

After Burlington, Boyce transferred to the University of Detroit where he played two seasons.  In 1964-65 he averaged 9.5 points and 9.6 rebounds, helping the Titans reach the NIT. He then contributed 15.5 points and 8.2 rebounds for the 1965-66 campaign. 

After graduating from Detroit, Boyce jumped into coaching. He was a graduate assistant at Detroit under then head coach Dick Vitale and then became the head coach at Detroit Northwestern High School where he compiled a record of 62-16. He later was the head coach at Eastern Michigan University from 1979 to 1986, posting an 84-96 record.

Boyce passed away in 2001 and is remembered as one of the best basketball players of his era from Detroit.