LAMAR CARDS BASKETBALL
KERMIT HOLMES ASSISTANT COACH Ninth Season Kermit Holmes is entering his ninth year on the Lamar men’s basketball coaching staff, joining the program as an assistant coach in August of 2005. Holmes spent the 2011-12 season as director of basketball operations before returning to an assistant coaching position the following season. Holmes served as a basketball coach at Midwest City (Okla.) High School from 2001-05 and also coached the Athletes First AAU 16-17 and under team during that time. Prior to that, he was a coach at Central HS in Tulsa, Okla. in 2000-01. During his time as a high school and AAU coach in the Sooner State, he coached 15 players who went on to play Division I basketball or football, with eight players currently in the NBA and NFL. Two former players were honored by being the No. 1 pick in their respective drafts. Former Oklahoma star Blake Griffin was the top pick in the 2009 NBA Draft, while Sam Bradford was taken first overall in the 2010 NFL Draft. Griffin’s older brother Taylor played four years at Oklahoma and spent most of the 2009-10 season with the NBA’s Phoenix Suns. Kelenna Azubuike went on to play at Kentucky and has spent his first four seasons in the NBA with the Golden State Warriors; J.R. Giddens played at Kansas and New Mexico before being drafted by the Boston Celtics; Darnell Jackson was drafted by the Miami Heat after completing a four-year career at Kansas with the 2008 NCAA National Championship; and Shelden Williams was a star at Duke before being taken by the Atlanta Hawks with the fifth overall pick in the 2006 NBA Draft. Both Giddens and Jackson were selected in the 2008 NBA Draft.
Robert Meachem was a first-round draft choice as a wide receiver with the New Orleans Saints after playing for Athletes First through 2002. Holmes enjoyed an extensive professional career, playing both in the U.S. and overseas. He played for a number of CBA teams, including the Columbus Horizon (1991-93), Oklahoma City Cavalry (1993-94, 1995-97), Rockford Lightning (1994-95) and Quad City Thunder (1997-99). He also played in professional leagues in Mexico City, Mexico; Istanbul, Turkey; and Angers, France. While playing with Oklahoma City, Holmes was named to the CBA AllStar team in 1996 and helped the Cavalry win the CBA championship in 1997. He also won a championship with the Quad City Thunder in 1998. Holmes played collegiately at Oklahoma from 1989-91 for Billy Tubbs. He earned team MVP honors in 1991 after averaging 14.8 points per game and leading the team in rebounding at 9.3 rpg. Additionally, Holmes helped Oklahoma post a two-year record of 47-20. The 1990 Sooners reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament and the 1991 squad advanced to the championship game of the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) in Madison Square Garden in New York City. Holmes served on the USA Basketball Men’s Developmental National Team Committee as an Athlete Representative. He played for USA Basketball as a member of the 1999 Pan American Games Team, which won a silver medal, and the 1997 Tournament of the Americas squad, which won a gold medal. Holmes, who earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Oklahoma, organized the Kermit Holmes Annual Girls and Boys Basketball Camp in 1996 and established the Kermit Holmes Scholarship Award in 1997. He has a 13-year-old son, Jakaree Holmes.
2013-14 Information Guide
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