Carven Holcombe (born September 10, 1964) is an American former basketball player known for his college career at

Texas Christian University Texas Christian University (TCU) is a private university, private research university in Fort Worth, Texas, United States. It was established in 1873 by brothers Addison Clark, Addison and Randolph Clark as the AddRan Male & Female College. It i ...

(TCU) between 1983 and 1987. He also played professionally in Belgium, France, and Israel at the

shooting guard The shooting guard (SG), also known as the two, two guard or off guard,Shooting guards are 6'3"–6'7"BBC Sports academy URL last accessed 2006-09-09. is one of the five traditional basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game ...

position.

High school and college careers

Born in

Houston, Texas Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

, Holcombe attended

Yates High School Jack Yates Senior High School is a public high school located at 3650 Alabama Street, very near Texas Southern University, in the historic Third Ward in Houston, Texas. Yates High School handles grades nine through twelve and is part of the Hous ...

in his hometown, where he was a teammate of

Rickie Winslow Rickie O'Neal Winslow (born July 26, 1964) is an American former professional basketball player. He has a Turkish passport under the name Kartal Reşat Fırıncıoğlu. Winslow, who was selected by the Chicago Bulls, with the 28th overall pick, ...

. As a senior in 1982–83, he was named "Who's Who" in basketball and was selected as the Texas High School Player of the Year after averaging 25 points and nine rebounds per game while leading Yates to a 37–3 record. Holcombe went on to play college basketball for the

TCU Horned Frogs The TCU Horned Frogs are the athletic teams that represent Texas Christian University. The 18 varsity teams participate in National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA Division I and in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) for football, competi ...

from 1983 to 1987. In his collegiate debut against

UT Arlington The University of Texas at Arlington (UTA or UT Arlington) is a public research university in Arlington, Texas, United States. It is the second oldest university in the University of Texas System and was founded in 1895. It was in the Texas A&M ...

, he scored 26 points. In 1982–83, he was selected as the

Southwest Conference The Southwest Conference (SWC) was an NCAA Division I college athletic conference in the United States that existed from 1914 to 1996. Composed primarily of schools from Texas, at various times the conference also included schools from Oklaho ...

(SWC) Freshman of the Year after averaging 13.4 points and 4.9 rebounds per game. He continued to improve throughout the rest of his career, garnering further personal accolades while also leading the Horned Frogs to team success as well. When Holcombe was a sophomore in 1984–85, TCU won five more games than the previous season, and he was selected to the All-SWC Second Team after averaging 16.5 points and 5.8 rebounds per game. Prior to his junior season, Holcombe was switched from

small forward The small forward (SF), also known as the three, is one of the five Basketball position, positions in a regulation basketball game. Small forwards are typically shorter, quicker, and leaner than Power forward (basketball), power forwards and Cent ...

by head coach

Jim Killingsworth James Austin Killingsworth (June 19, 1923 – June 10, 2007) was an American college basketball coach. He was best known for his tenures at Idaho State University and Texas Christian University (TCU). Born in Checotah, Oklahoma, Killingsworth pl ...

. That year, Holcombe's numbers dipped a bit to 12.7 points and 5.0 rebounds, respectively, but he had a career-high 3.3 assists per game. TCU tied for the SWC regular season championship and earned a berth in the

1986 National Invitation Tournament The 1986 National Invitation Tournament was the 1986 edition of the annual NCAA college basketball competition. Selected teams Below is a list of the 32 teams selected for the tournament.

where they won one game. Holcombe repeated as an All-SWC Second Team honoree, and he was also named to the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

Honorable Mention

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

team for

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. ** Spain and Portugal en ...

. In his senior season of 1986–87, TCU repeated as SWC champions but earned a berth in the 1987 NCAA tournament, advancing to its second round. Holcombe, who served as team

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

all four years for TCU, averaged 17.5 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 2.2 assists per game. He was placed on the All-SWC First Team and was also named the SWC Player of the Year, becoming just the third TCU player so honored in the award's then-30 year old history. In 2004, TCU enshrined Holcombe in their athletics hall of fame.

Professional career and later life

Holcombe was selected in the

1987 NBA draft The 1987 NBA draft was held on June 22, 1987, in New York City. This draft included two future members of the NBA 50 Greatest Players list, David Robinson and Scottie Pippen, as well as fellow Hall of Famer Reggie Miller, who was named to t ...

by the

Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers, often referred to as the Cavs, are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Divis ...

in the fourth round (80th overall). He did not play in the NBA, however, instead he pursued a professional career abroad in Belgium, France, and Israel which lasted six years. After his basketball career, Holcombe worked in management for two large grocery chains and then opened A-1 Powerwash Services. He also coaches high school basketball in the

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

area.

References

External links

Carven Holcombe
@ TheDraftReview {{DEFAULTSORT:Holcombe, Carven 1964 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in Belgium American expatriate basketball people in France American expatriate basketball people in Israel American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from Texas Basketball players from Houston Cleveland Cavaliers draft picks High school basketball coaches in Texas Maccabi Ironi Ramat Gan players Shooting guards TCU Horned Frogs men's basketball players 20th-century American sportsmen