tptgamecock
11-09-2007, 09:56 AM
Basketball | At last, Holmes finds his home
Years of hype and controversy are erased once the Bishopville star gets past tip-off tonight
By SETH EMERSON - semerson@thestate.com (semerson@thestate.com)
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C. ALUKA BERRY/CABERRY@THESTATE.COM
Michael Holmes had 19 points and 10 rebounds in an exhibition victory against Guilford on Monday. He plays his first regular-season game for USC tonight against S.C. State.
Men's basketball pregame (http://www.thestate.com/gamecocks/story/224533.html)
The introduction came by way of a series of dunks, the kind that send fans jumping out of their seats.. Most knew his name, and had known it for years, but some were seeing the state's most-hyped player for the first time.
These were the state high school championships. But really, this March afternoon was the Mike Holmes exhibition, as the senior for Lee Central High threw down dunk after dunk — on the break, over defenders, from the baseline. Inside the Colonial Center, more than 15,000 people grew more and more excited.
A time zone away, South Carolina assistant basketball coach Ken Potosnak, whose struggling, undermanned team was preparing to play LSU, picked up his cell phone. A text from an observer back home said: "Mike Holmes ... wow."
That was eight months ago. Tonight, Holmes returns to the Colonial Center, in a USC uniform. The 19-year-old also will wear the expectations that have followed him for three years, and the baggage that comes with it.
Holmes is the biggest basketball recruit to come to USC in recent years. He is also the most star-crossed. Some said he would never make it; others maintain he may not finish his four years. Either way, he's here now.
"I told him before he left: 'Make us proud,' " said LaVerne Knox, Holmes' coach at Lee Central. "Because a lot of people thought he wouldn't make it. And I'm happy to see him in there."
THE TALENT
The dunks excite the fans, but it's the layups that bring the most awe from Holmes' USC teammates. He does it with such ease, flipping the ball from anywhere near the basket, and somehow, some way, tucking it into the basket.
"He does that every day, and it must be a gift from God, because there isn't anyone who can block that," sophomore forward Dominique Archie said. "I've tried and I've tried, but it's impossible."
So you have the layup and the dunk. Then you have the 6-foot-7 Holmes occasionally straying to the perimeter, where the left-hander is known to knock down a few shots. He also can rebound, block shots and bully opposing players in the lane.
"He's a man-beast," senior Dwayne Day said.
This is why USC wanted Holmes so badly. This is why it stayed with him when other programs backed off — not because of concerns about Holmes on the court, but because of what had occurred off of it.
BISHOPVILLE
Genetically, it should be no accident for Holmes to become a standout basketball player: His older sister, Patrice, played at Middle Tennessee, while his father, Perry Damon, led Bishopville High to the state championship in 1979.
But almost right away the folks in Bishopville — a small, poor town an hour from Columbia — knew Holmes was even better, and started pinning hopes on him.
He lived up to expectations in high school, leading Lee Central to the state title game all four of his years and winning championships his junior and senior seasons. But even that seemed minor compared to the straight-to-the-NBA talk, which seemed realistic when Holmes was a 6-7 sophomore.
That talk ended when the NBA barred high schoolers from the draft and Holmes stopped growing. That only made him a better college prospect, and Knox started receiving calls from recruiters when Holmes was a freshman.
Holmes seemed to have no weaknesses, save one: his temper, which Lee Central’s opponents pounced on. They would bait him regularly, according to Knox, who felt referees didn’t do enough to stop it.
Bob Wilson, the coach at Wilson High in Florence, saw Holmes’ temper when the teams played.
“He didn’t win any popularity contests on the court,” said Wilson, one of whose players, Sam Muldrow, is also a freshman for the Gamecocks.
But Wilson added that even though he wasn’t close to Holmes, on a couple of occasions their paths crossed in a mall, and Holmes made a point of coming over to greet him.
“He didn’t have to do that, but he always did,” Wilson said.
The picture was also two-sided at Lee Central. Knox said he never had to discipline Holmes, other than making him run laps when he was late to practice. But he agrees that others in Bishopville targeted him.
During his sophomore year, Holmes was suspended 10 days from school for pushing a student off the top gym bleacher, which he said at the time was in retaliation for one of his cousins being beaten.
A year later, Holmes was suspended for several games at the start of the season for another in-school incident, the details of which are unclear.
But Knox and Dorothy Fortune, Lee Central’s athletics director, said Holmes seldomly started trouble on his own.
“I told him one time —- and I was with the principal —- and I said, ‘You have so much talent. Go on and get away from Bishopville, go to college and get out,” Fortune said.
The wheels were already in motion.
USC AND HOLMES
USC coaches started tracking Holmes before his sophomore year, after seeing him at an AAU event. It was a tough time for the Gamecocks when it came to in-state talent, with players such as Devan Downey, Zam Fredrick, Ra’Sean Dickey and Roman Sessions having opted to leave the state for college.
So when Holmes committed to USC the spring of his junior year, it was a big lift.
“He was an important commitment for us,” coach Dave Odom said.Odom acknowledges a lot of schools were scared away by Holmes’ academic situation. Few expected him to qualify. USC tends to back off such recruits from other states, but since Holmes was in their backyard, the Gamecocks stuck with him.
And Odom said something else happened: As he got to know Holmes, primarily when the player visited campus his junior year, he grew more optimistic.
“I just thought there’s something different about him. There was a goodness that was hidden,” Odom said. “There was a side of him that was hidden that others weren’t able to detect because they didn’t have the advantage of being close to him like we were. I didn’t think that was a side that was easily exposed, that he allowed to come out.”
Holmes also suffered from a lack of a good support system, according to Odom. His mother, grandmother and principal at Lee Central were there for him, but there was no dominant male role model.
“Mike lived in an environment where survival was a day-to-day process,” Odom said. “He had to learn to survive. ... They didn’t have the amenities that many student-athletes, many youth growing up around America, have had.”
OAK HILL AND BACK
Odom would not make Holmes available for an interview for this story. Holmes was admitted provisionally to USC — meaning he was accepted with certain conditions — so Odom said he wants to limit Holmes’ off-court responsibilities so that he can concentrate on academics.
After his junior season at Lee Central, Holmes briefly transferred to Oak Hill Academy in Virginia, which has an elite boys basketball program. The idea was for Holmes to stay the year and improve his grades, but he didn’t last.
Oak Hill coach Steve Smith did not return a call seeking comment. Odom said Smith called him to say it wasn’t working out.
“They didn’t want to go through a year of him casting a wary eye back to Bishopville,” Odom said. “They don’t have to do that. They’ve got too many players like him who want to go there for different reasons.”
So in his final year of high school, USC, Holmes and Lee Central stepped up their efforts to ensure Holmes would qualify. Holmes worked with a test tutor suggested by USC. The USC basketball staff remained in regular contact with Holmes’ guidance counselor and several of his teachers.
At first, Holmes didn’t get into summer school. But when he was admitted in July, he said in a school release that he was glad to finally be a Gamecock:
"The environment will be different. There are so many more kids in college — I only had 600 or 700 kids in my high school. It will be a tough transition with weights, classes, tutors — everything. It will be hard, but I will make the best of it."
Holmes immediately became a starter, and recorded a double-double in Monday’s exhibition victory over Guilford (N.C.). So things have worked out. So far.
Opponents may still test his temper — Archie said he sees it “in spurts” — and college academics are a challenge for almost any student.“He still works harder than anybody out there, I think,” Archie said. “I think it’s because of his situation. He comes, nobody thinks he’s going to make it, and so far he’s proving everybody wrong.”
Reach Emerson at (803) 771-8676.
http://www.thestate.com/gamecocks/story/224517.html
Years of hype and controversy are erased once the Bishopville star gets past tip-off tonight
By SETH EMERSON - semerson@thestate.com (semerson@thestate.com)
function PopupPic(sPicURL, sHeight, sWidth) { window.open( "/static/popup.html?"+sPicURL, "", "resizable=1,HEIGHT=" +sHeight+ ",WIDTH=" +sWidth); }http://media.thestate.com/smedia/2007/11/09/07/966-uschoops-071109.embedded.prod_affiliate.74.jpg (http://media.thestate.com/smedia/2007/11/09/07/683-uschoops-071109.standalone.prod_affiliate.74.jpg)
C. ALUKA BERRY/CABERRY@THESTATE.COM
Michael Holmes had 19 points and 10 rebounds in an exhibition victory against Guilford on Monday. He plays his first regular-season game for USC tonight against S.C. State.
Men's basketball pregame (http://www.thestate.com/gamecocks/story/224533.html)
The introduction came by way of a series of dunks, the kind that send fans jumping out of their seats.. Most knew his name, and had known it for years, but some were seeing the state's most-hyped player for the first time.
These were the state high school championships. But really, this March afternoon was the Mike Holmes exhibition, as the senior for Lee Central High threw down dunk after dunk — on the break, over defenders, from the baseline. Inside the Colonial Center, more than 15,000 people grew more and more excited.
A time zone away, South Carolina assistant basketball coach Ken Potosnak, whose struggling, undermanned team was preparing to play LSU, picked up his cell phone. A text from an observer back home said: "Mike Holmes ... wow."
That was eight months ago. Tonight, Holmes returns to the Colonial Center, in a USC uniform. The 19-year-old also will wear the expectations that have followed him for three years, and the baggage that comes with it.
Holmes is the biggest basketball recruit to come to USC in recent years. He is also the most star-crossed. Some said he would never make it; others maintain he may not finish his four years. Either way, he's here now.
"I told him before he left: 'Make us proud,' " said LaVerne Knox, Holmes' coach at Lee Central. "Because a lot of people thought he wouldn't make it. And I'm happy to see him in there."
THE TALENT
The dunks excite the fans, but it's the layups that bring the most awe from Holmes' USC teammates. He does it with such ease, flipping the ball from anywhere near the basket, and somehow, some way, tucking it into the basket.
"He does that every day, and it must be a gift from God, because there isn't anyone who can block that," sophomore forward Dominique Archie said. "I've tried and I've tried, but it's impossible."
So you have the layup and the dunk. Then you have the 6-foot-7 Holmes occasionally straying to the perimeter, where the left-hander is known to knock down a few shots. He also can rebound, block shots and bully opposing players in the lane.
"He's a man-beast," senior Dwayne Day said.
This is why USC wanted Holmes so badly. This is why it stayed with him when other programs backed off — not because of concerns about Holmes on the court, but because of what had occurred off of it.
BISHOPVILLE
Genetically, it should be no accident for Holmes to become a standout basketball player: His older sister, Patrice, played at Middle Tennessee, while his father, Perry Damon, led Bishopville High to the state championship in 1979.
But almost right away the folks in Bishopville — a small, poor town an hour from Columbia — knew Holmes was even better, and started pinning hopes on him.
He lived up to expectations in high school, leading Lee Central to the state title game all four of his years and winning championships his junior and senior seasons. But even that seemed minor compared to the straight-to-the-NBA talk, which seemed realistic when Holmes was a 6-7 sophomore.
That talk ended when the NBA barred high schoolers from the draft and Holmes stopped growing. That only made him a better college prospect, and Knox started receiving calls from recruiters when Holmes was a freshman.
Holmes seemed to have no weaknesses, save one: his temper, which Lee Central’s opponents pounced on. They would bait him regularly, according to Knox, who felt referees didn’t do enough to stop it.
Bob Wilson, the coach at Wilson High in Florence, saw Holmes’ temper when the teams played.
“He didn’t win any popularity contests on the court,” said Wilson, one of whose players, Sam Muldrow, is also a freshman for the Gamecocks.
But Wilson added that even though he wasn’t close to Holmes, on a couple of occasions their paths crossed in a mall, and Holmes made a point of coming over to greet him.
“He didn’t have to do that, but he always did,” Wilson said.
The picture was also two-sided at Lee Central. Knox said he never had to discipline Holmes, other than making him run laps when he was late to practice. But he agrees that others in Bishopville targeted him.
During his sophomore year, Holmes was suspended 10 days from school for pushing a student off the top gym bleacher, which he said at the time was in retaliation for one of his cousins being beaten.
A year later, Holmes was suspended for several games at the start of the season for another in-school incident, the details of which are unclear.
But Knox and Dorothy Fortune, Lee Central’s athletics director, said Holmes seldomly started trouble on his own.
“I told him one time —- and I was with the principal —- and I said, ‘You have so much talent. Go on and get away from Bishopville, go to college and get out,” Fortune said.
The wheels were already in motion.
USC AND HOLMES
USC coaches started tracking Holmes before his sophomore year, after seeing him at an AAU event. It was a tough time for the Gamecocks when it came to in-state talent, with players such as Devan Downey, Zam Fredrick, Ra’Sean Dickey and Roman Sessions having opted to leave the state for college.
So when Holmes committed to USC the spring of his junior year, it was a big lift.
“He was an important commitment for us,” coach Dave Odom said.Odom acknowledges a lot of schools were scared away by Holmes’ academic situation. Few expected him to qualify. USC tends to back off such recruits from other states, but since Holmes was in their backyard, the Gamecocks stuck with him.
And Odom said something else happened: As he got to know Holmes, primarily when the player visited campus his junior year, he grew more optimistic.
“I just thought there’s something different about him. There was a goodness that was hidden,” Odom said. “There was a side of him that was hidden that others weren’t able to detect because they didn’t have the advantage of being close to him like we were. I didn’t think that was a side that was easily exposed, that he allowed to come out.”
Holmes also suffered from a lack of a good support system, according to Odom. His mother, grandmother and principal at Lee Central were there for him, but there was no dominant male role model.
“Mike lived in an environment where survival was a day-to-day process,” Odom said. “He had to learn to survive. ... They didn’t have the amenities that many student-athletes, many youth growing up around America, have had.”
OAK HILL AND BACK
Odom would not make Holmes available for an interview for this story. Holmes was admitted provisionally to USC — meaning he was accepted with certain conditions — so Odom said he wants to limit Holmes’ off-court responsibilities so that he can concentrate on academics.
After his junior season at Lee Central, Holmes briefly transferred to Oak Hill Academy in Virginia, which has an elite boys basketball program. The idea was for Holmes to stay the year and improve his grades, but he didn’t last.
Oak Hill coach Steve Smith did not return a call seeking comment. Odom said Smith called him to say it wasn’t working out.
“They didn’t want to go through a year of him casting a wary eye back to Bishopville,” Odom said. “They don’t have to do that. They’ve got too many players like him who want to go there for different reasons.”
So in his final year of high school, USC, Holmes and Lee Central stepped up their efforts to ensure Holmes would qualify. Holmes worked with a test tutor suggested by USC. The USC basketball staff remained in regular contact with Holmes’ guidance counselor and several of his teachers.
At first, Holmes didn’t get into summer school. But when he was admitted in July, he said in a school release that he was glad to finally be a Gamecock:
"The environment will be different. There are so many more kids in college — I only had 600 or 700 kids in my high school. It will be a tough transition with weights, classes, tutors — everything. It will be hard, but I will make the best of it."
Holmes immediately became a starter, and recorded a double-double in Monday’s exhibition victory over Guilford (N.C.). So things have worked out. So far.
Opponents may still test his temper — Archie said he sees it “in spurts” — and college academics are a challenge for almost any student.“He still works harder than anybody out there, I think,” Archie said. “I think it’s because of his situation. He comes, nobody thinks he’s going to make it, and so far he’s proving everybody wrong.”
Reach Emerson at (803) 771-8676.
http://www.thestate.com/gamecocks/story/224517.html