In his second season, Earl became a key force in the Big Ten Conference, averaging 16.3 points and 6.7 rebounds per game, with 106 total blocked shots.

In his junior year, Earl slightly improved his numbers (managing to block an average of four shots a game), while the college made it to the 1992 NCAA Tournament, only to lose, again in the second round and against Duke (also the eventual winners), 75–62, with Earl blocking 8 shot attempts, one shy of the all-time tournament record held by David Robinson.

Earl was selected in the first round of the 1993 NBA draft by the Boston Celtics with the 19th pick, in a year which included Chris Webber, Jamal Mashburn and Penny Hardaway.

His statistics dropped in his second year, as he played in only 30 games, and was subsequently selected by the Toronto Raptors in the 1995 NBA expansion draft after the Celtics left him unprotected.

He then represented Türk Telekom Ankara and Darussafaka Istanbul Spor Kulubu (Turkey), Unics Kazan and Saratov Autodor (Russia), Śląsk Wrocław (Poland), Traiskirchen Arkadia Lions (Austria) and KK Budućnost Podgorica (Montenegro), retiring in 2004.