Recruiting Update – Cole Holum (2024 Lakeridge)

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The top stock riser in the state this spring and summer may very well have been [player_tooltip player_id='1458101' first='Cole' last='Holum']. Going into the off-season, the lanky 6-foot-7 forward had a solid junior year at Lakeridge but was largely seen as one of those proverbial guys that "had a chance". The senior took full advantage of his opportunities these past few months and is now a bona fide college basketball recruit, and it all started with his play on the club basketball scene in the spring.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>"It was definitely an amazing experience playing with all those insanely talented guys across Oregon and that was 100 percent one of the best decisions I've ever made was playing with Oregon Prospects and traveling up and down the West Coast," Holum said. "It really improved my game being able to compete at a high level and down in California, up in Washington, and even in Oregon against a lot of D-I prospects and a lot of future college guys. Oregon prospects was definitely a huge development thing for me."</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>As a junior, Holum was solid averaging 6.5 points and 4.2 rebounds, with much of his game leaning on his perimeter shooting skills. He knew he needed to get tougher if he wanted to play in college and shifted his focus to work on that.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>"Definitely physicality has been something I improved on a lot, and in the weight room as well - being able to put on a few pounds and being able to play more physical was really huge for me," Holum said. "Offensively I definitely tried to improve finishing at the hoop, just being able to take contact and finish up there. Also, post defense, post work offensively, both of those things have just been really something I've been trying to improve on the offseason."</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>College coaches have noticed Holum's development and his recruitment has started to take shape. He's a bona fide D-III recruit and in addition to roster spot offers from George Fox and Pacific, he's also been hearing a lot from schools such as Pomona-Pitzer, Cal Lutheran, and others in the SIAC and he's got a visit planned to visit UC Santa Cruz. D-II schools such as Western Oregon and Seattle Pacific have been in contact and a visit to SPU is also upcoming.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>There's obviously a lot to sort through already and Holum broke down what he's looking for. "Well, of course, academics will come first for me, and a lot of schools I've been looking at have good academics," Holum said. "I'd really love to play at the D-II level. Seattle Pacific was my first introduction to D-II and I really like the coach, the school, the program, and everything so I'm really excited to go up there and be able to check that out. But D-II, D-III - that's a great question and I'm really just going to cross that bridge when I come to it. I just need to see what's best for me."</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Holum is planning on playing his senior year, seeing what other options might come up, and then making a decision. To that end, while he's been playing some football to help out the team, his focus is on the upcoming year for the Pacers.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>"I have really high hopes for this team," Holum said. "We have a lot of size and a ton of talent and I feel like we're just a team that's being overlooked right now. I'm just really excited to prove a lot of people wrong this season. We have shooters and people who can rebound and a lot of big bodies, so I'm excited to see what we can do with that."</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Holum currently ranks as the #38 player in the recently updated PrepHoops Oregon Class of 2024 rankings.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->