Recruiting Report: Nick Holmes (2017)
Nick Holmes’ father was watching his son play on a recent Saturday morning at a showcase event in Denver, explaining why he decided to leave his former school, Denver School of Science & Technology – Green Valley Ranch. The biggest…
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Continue ReadingNick Holmes’ father was watching his son play on a recent Saturday morning at a showcase event in Denver, explaining why he decided to leave his former school, Denver School of Science & Technology – Green Valley Ranch.
The biggest reason: Holmes was looking for a jump in competition after averaging 10.5 points and 2.7 assists per game as a sophomore at the Class 3A school.
All Homes has to do now is show up for practice at his new school, defending Class 5A champion Overland, to find as much competition as he could possibly crave.
“It was a tough decision to make at first, but it’s really helped my game out a lot playing every day with De’Ron and all of them,” Holmes said. “Over the past two months that we’ve been working out, I’ve seen myself get bigger, stronger and seen my IQ go up.”
De’Ron, of course, is De’Ron Davis, the 6-foot-10 forward is not only the top player in Colorado but one of the top big men nationally. Davis is a big reason why the Trail Blazers are an odds-on favorite to repeat again this season, but so is a deep group of seniors that include Jervae Robinson, Reggie Gibson, Alijah Halliburton and Tyler Stevenson.
The competition for minutes will be fierce, but if Holmes’ performance over the last few months is any indication, he could be a solid presence for Overland.
A 6-foot-1 guard, Holmes plays with high energy and looks to attack the basket. The lefty has a solid left-handed perimeter jump his has worked hard to improve after shooting 31 percent from deep last season. At the PHC Prime Time Prospects Combine in September, he was tied for fourth in the 3-point shooting testing session and was tied for sixth in the interior shooting session, a mark of a player’s ability to score and immediately put the ball back in the basket. He was also the third-fastest sprinter among the 80-plus players at the combine.
That combination of skills and speed paid off for Holmes during his first summer with a Colorado Hawks traveling team, the club’s talented 16U squad. Holmes said working with that unit greatly improved his feel for the game.
It also helped Holmes, who is a solid academic performer, get his name out there. He picked up interest from Nebraska-Omaha, and he said he’s planning a visit to Division II Fort Lewis.
Holmes hopes he can bring specific strengths to Overland.
“I’m really working on being a lockdown defender and a knockdown shooter,” he said.
Holmes has craved top competition. Official practices are 12 days away, and with the top team in the state, he’s about to get plenty of it.