Dante Holmes may not be where he expected to be at this point in his basketball career, but there's still plenty of time for him to get there.
A two-time Baltimore Sun second-team All-Metro selection at St. Frances, Holmes was a dynamic wing recruited by several mid- and high-major programs coming out of high school. Holmes committed to Marshall last spring, but after missing NCAA qualifying standards, he had to do a post-grad year instead.
At Oldsmar Christian School near Tampa, Fla., Holmes has made the best out of his prep-school experience.
"He's been doing real well," said Carlos Green, a St. Frances assistant and Holmes' uncle. "He averaged 20.9 points, and they went 30-10. … He shot better than 43 percent from 3-point range. His shot is totally different now."Holmes has worked hard in the weight room to become a more college-ready player. The results have been positive for the 6-foot-3 ½ combo guard, who is now up to 202 pounds – a 15-pound weight gain from when he was a senior at St. Frances.
Holmes used the added muscle to his advantage by playing some point guard down the stretch for Oldsmar Christian. While he mostly played off the ball at St. Frances, adding another element to his game "made his stock go up a little bit higher."
"I think it benefited him a whole lot," Green said. "It helps him understand the 2 position a whole lot better. He was so used to people setting him up all the time. It gave him a whole lot better understanding of the 2-guard position."
Green expects Holmes' recruitment to pick up in the coming weeks, especially after the NCAA tournament is done and open coaching jobs have been filled. St. Bonaventure – which recruited Holmes heavily out of high school – has called. Green also said there has been some interest from Iowa State and Nebraska, while "Boston College and Kansas State are showing strong interest."
"We've been talking back and forth on the phone the last couple of weeks," Green said. "It's a matter of setting up some visits."
Green said the Eagles have kept tabs on Holmes since late in his senior year, and the Wildcats found out about him thanks to his play at Oldsmar Christian.
While Holmes had hoped to be a college freshman this year, Green said he has been patient with the process. The Panthers assistant said his nephew is "kind of puzzled about the recruiting game," but remains confident that he'll find the right place sooner rather than later.
"We had a conversation [Monday], just talking about a lot of guys at school this year as freshmen -- a lot of guys he played against since he was 10 years old," Green said. "He's always held his own or got the best of the other guys. It's just one of those things. You can't explain it. Guys like Dwyane Wade, Steve Nash and John Stockton weren't highly recruited. I told him it boils down to one school. It's all about the best fit."
Baltimore Sun photo of Dante Holmes by Gene Sweeney Jr. / Jan. 22, 2010