University of North Carolina Athletics
Lucas: Hoops Family Benefits Holmes
December 1, 2003 | Lucas
Nov. 30, 2003
By Adam Lucas
When casual fans discover that Jonathan Holmes played at North Carolina, one of their first questions is inevitably, "Did you play for Coach Smith?"
Hard as it is to believe, he didn't. But the past few months have left little doubt in Holmes's mind that he is firmly entrenched as a member of the Carolina basketball family that Smith has built since 1961, and now his membership card in that family has punched his ticket to a professional team in England.
Holmes left Chapel Hill with 42 career assists and a 0.8 points per game scoring average. His best skills on the basketball court--a dogged toughness and a coach-like understanding of the game--don't translate well to a simple stat sheet, so he didn't have overly impressive credentials to show to coaches at the next level. But Holmes, a basketball lifer and a certifiable gym rat, wanted to continue his hoops career by playing overseas.
Fortunately, one of the best European basketball references in the business--Dean Smith--just happens to have an office in the Smith Center.
"I first spoke with Coach Smith and Coach Guthridge in April after the season ended," Holmes said from his home in Indiana Sunday evening. "Every couple of weeks since then, they've kept me updated. They've been amazing."
In August, Smith journeyed to England to make an appearance at former Tar Heel Steve Bucknall's basketball camp. Bucknall, a native of England who played at Carolina from 1985-89, has been instrumental in fostering hoops interest in the soccer-mad nation.
One of the instructors at that camp was Jonathan Holmes, who was spending eight days in Europe working out for professional teams and trying to establish the right connections that would eventually lead to a contract. It was at Bucknall's camp that he met Karl Brown, a former player at Georgia Tech. Holmes didn't think much about it at the time, but Brown would eventually provide a window into professional basketball.
The camp also provided a chance for Holmes to appreciate exactly what it means to play basketball for the University of North Carolina.
"There were probably 100 kids at this camp, and they all knew about Carolina," Holmes said. "They were so excited by me having t-shirts or shorts or shoes or anything from Carolina. That's when it really hit me that Carolina is global. People all over the world know about us as a basketball program. There was definitely an awe factor."
Brown, who came off the bench for the high-scoring "Lethal Weapon III" Georgia Tech team in 1990 (so named for its lethal scoring trio of Dennis Scott, Kenny Anderson, and Brian Oliver), knew all about the Tar Heels. When he was named head coach of the Leicester Riders, a team in the British Basketball League, last week, Brown had one open slot on his roster for an American player. He needed a point guard, and his thoughts happened to turn to that Carolina guy he had met in August.
"Coach Smith called me last Tuesday and said it looked like Karl Brown was going to get the job," Holmes said. "Ten minutes later Steve Bucknall called and said Karl had gotten the job. Coach Brown called me that night, I've signed a contract, and we're in the process of getting a work permit so that I can get into the country."
Holmes expects to leave later this week and will be in uniform almost immediately. He'll benefit from the usual setup for Americans playing in Europe--Leicester will pay for an apartment, a car, and his transportation to and from England in additional to a monthly salary.
The regular season, which includes approximately 45 games, stretches through mid-April. Holmes will join several other Tar Heels playing overseas, including fellow 2003 graduate Will Johnson, Derrick Phelps, Ed Cota, Dante Calabria, and Donald Williams.
But Holmes doesn't need European encounters with fellow Tar Heels to prove to him the value of the Carolina family. He's already got it right there, virtually stamped on his passport.
Holmes didn't know Bucknall at all before working his camp in August. When he thanked the former Tar Heel for his help in landing a shot at pro basketball last week, Bucknall had a simple response.
"Hey," he said, "It's the Carolina family. That's what we do."
Adam Lucas is the publisher of Tar Heel Monthly and can be reached at alucas@tarheelmonthly.com. To subscribe to Tar Heel Monthly, click here.
