Temple Basketball Player Jikorian Boykin Voted ITG Next Georgia Male Athlete of the Month
Congratulations to the ITG Next Georgia Male Athlete of the Month Jikorian “Ji” Boykin. He received the most votes from among our four candidates all vying for this month’s award. Votes were submitted from readers of our ITG Next Georgia newsletter.
Boykin is a senior on the Temple High School boys basketball team, led by head coach David Cottrell, who is in his eighth season at Temple High as the head coach. This past season, Boykin was an important part of the Tigers squad, averaging 11.8 points per game, along with 10 rebounds per game. He also finished with 10 double doubles on the season.
According to Cottrell, Boykin started every game, and his stellar play made it tough for the coach to take him off the floor.
“Ji played about 32 minutes in every game this year, and it was really hard to take him off the court. But, that’s a good problem to have,” said Cottrell.
He remembers first seeing Boykin in the ninth grade.
“Jikorian started in the basketball program as a freshman. That was the first time I had met him, and saw him play,” said Cottrell. “Every year since then his body has continued to grow, and as he has gotten better and better. He has turned himself into a really solid basketball player, and has continued to shine.”
The Tigers head coach elaborated on Boykin’s transformation.
“Last season, 2020, Ji came off the bench as a junior, and had to share minutes with another one of our post players, before transforming into a full time role this past season,” said Cottrell.
Last season, with Boykin playing the “sixth man” role, Temple finished 14-13 overall, with a 5-3 region record. This season, with Boykin more involved in the Tigers scheme, the Tigers finished 15-12 overall, and 4-4 in region play. Temple made it to the state playoffs each season.
Boykin was born and raised in Temple and has lived there his entire life. He started playing basketball at around the age of five, when he played on a local youth team coached by his mother, Catrina Kight. He says that is when he really learned how to play the game.
“My mom was a good teacher of the game, and I learned a lot from her,” Boykin said.
Boykin recalls just how good a coach his mom was.
“My Mom won three state championships as a head coach in the youth league, and made it to the state finals, too,” said Boykin.
What area does Boykin think his strengths are on the basketball court?
“I can see the floor really well, and I’m a pretty good rebounder,” said Boykin.
His coach agrees, with at least part of that.
“Ji really knows how to rebound the basketball. He is a 6 foot 3 inch post player who plays bigger than he actually is, finds a way to get offensive and defensive rebounds, and puts backs for us. He is also a threat to score with his back to the basket. That’s not always the easiest thing to do,” said Cottrell.
Boykin says he hopes basketball remains in his future.
“I hope to land at a smaller college first, build myself up, and then transfer to a D-1, and hopefully land shot in the NBA,” Boykin said. “If that doesn’t work, I may try to play overseas (professionally).”
If for some reason basketball isn’t in the Temple native’s future, he plans to get into the field of computers.
“I’ve already been accepted into The University of West Georgia and want to major in computer science,” Boykin said.
Sounds like whichever path Boykin takes, he’s going to continue to be a winner.
ITG Next Georgia would like to thank our readers who took the time to vote for their favorite candidate.
