Kermit Leanell Holmes (born March 27, 1969) is an American basketball coach and former professional player. After sitting our his first year of

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

due to Proposition 48, he played three years with the

Oklahoma Sooners The Oklahoma Sooners are the athletic teams that represent the University of Oklahoma, located in Norman. The 19 men's and women's varsity teams are called the " Sooners", a reference to a nickname given to the early participants in the Land R ...

, being selected as a starter in his senior season. He went undrafted in the 1991 NBA draft and played several years in the CBA, where he won two championships and earned two selections in the United States national team, winning the gold medal during the

FIBA Americas Championship 1997 The 1997 Tournament of the Americas, later known as the FIBA Americas Championship and the FIBA AmeriCup, was a basketball championship hosted by Uruguay from 21 to 31, August 1997. The games were played in Montevideo. This FIBA AmeriCup was to ea ...

and the silver medal at the

1999 Pan American Games The 1999 Pan American Games, officially the XIII Pan American Games or the 13th Pan American Games, was a major international multi-sport event that was held from July 23 to August 8, 1999, in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada and surrounding towns an ...

. After the end of his playing career he started coaching.

High school career

Holmes played high school basketball in his native town of

Okmulgee, Oklahoma Okmulgee is a city in, and the county seat of, Okmulgee County, Oklahoma. The name is from the Mvskoke word ''okimulgee,'' which means "boiling waters".Bamburg, Maxine"Okmulgee,"''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture''. Accessed June 16, ...

: he was a nationally ranked

power forward The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to center (basketball), centers. When on Of ...

, and averaged 16 points and 10 rebounds per game during his junior year. For his senior year he improved his averages to 21.9 points and 11 rebounds per game, and was selected in the ''Super 5'', the list of the top 5 players in the state of Oklahoma by ''

The Daily Oklahoman ''The Oklahoman'' is the largest daily newspaper in Oklahoma, United States, and is the only regional daily that covers the Greater Oklahoma City area. The Alliance for Audited Media (formerly Audit Bureau Circulation) lists it as the 59th large ...

''. He also won the state championship, beating

McLain High School McLain Magnet High School for Science and Technology is a high school in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It was named after 20th Century US Army Lieutenant General Raymond S. McLain. McLain Magnet High School is one of eleven high schools in Tulsa Public Schoo ...

55–51 in the final game during which he was the top scorer with 15 points.

College career

During his high school career Holmes was recruited by 50 colleges, and restricted his choice between

Houston Houston (; ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in Texas, the Southern United States#Major cities, most populous city in the Southern United States, the List of United States cities by population, fourth-most pop ...

and Oklahoma: he ultimately chose the latter, and signed to play for the Sooners in November 1986. However, in 1987 he was deemed academically ineligible according to the newly established Proposition 48, and had to sit out his first season. He regained his eligibility in 1988 and played his first season receiving limited playing time from coach

Billy Tubbs Billy Duane Tubbs (March 5, 1935 – November 1, 2020) was an American men's college basketball coach. The Tulsa, Oklahoma native was the head coach of his alma mater Lamar University (1976–1980, 2003–2006), the University of Oklahoma (1980– ...

: Holmes played 10 games, averaging 2 points and 2.3 rebounds in 5.6 minutes per game. He played 1 game during the 1989 NCAA tournament against

Louisiana Tech Louisiana Tech University (Louisiana Tech, La. Tech, or simply Tech) is a public research university in Ruston, Louisiana. It is part of the University of Louisiana System and classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activi ...

, recording 2 rebounds in 3 minutes. While he played primarily as power forward during his high school career, his good ball handling and his shooting skills made him more of a

small forward The small forward (SF), also known as the three or swingman, is one of the five positions in a regulation basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular c ...

in college. In his junior year Holmes played more consistently, and recorded 26 appearances during the season, with increased playing time (11.1 minutes), and averaged 5 points and 4.1 rebounds. He recorded another appearance during the NCAA tournament against

Towson Towson () is an unincorporated community and a census-designated place in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. The population was 55,197 as of the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Baltimore County and the second-most populous unincorp ...

, and recorded 2 rebounds in 3 minutes, missing all 3 of his field goals. Holmes' senior year was his best at Oklahoma: coach Tubbs promoted him to the starting five, and Holmes recorded 30 starts in 31 games played. He averaged career-highs in all statistical categories with 14.8 points, a team-best 9.3 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 1 steal and 0.4 blocks per game in 30.8 minutes. His 289 rebounds ranked him 4th in the Big 8 both in total rebounds and rebounding average, and at the end of the season he was named the team MVP.''Lamar Basketball 2012-13'', page 24 He ended his career with the Sooners with 610 points and 419 rebounds.

College statistics

, - , align="left" , 1988–89 , align="left" , Oklahoma , 10 , , 0 , , 5.6 , , .500 , , .000 , , .182 , , 2.3 , , 0.3 , , 0.1 , , 0.2 , , 2.0 , - , align="left" , 1989–90 , align="left" , Oklahoma , 26 , , 0 , , 11.1 , , .535 , , .000 , , .463 , , 4.1 , , 0.6 , , 0.5 , , 0.3 , , 5.0 , - , align="left" , 1990–91 , align="left" , Oklahoma , 31 , , 30 , , 30.8 , , .495 , , .286 , , .762 , , 9.3 , , 1.3 , , 1.0 , , 0.4 , , 14.8 , - , align="left" , Career , align="left" , , 67 , , 30 , , 19.4 , , .503 , , .222 , , .627 , , 6.3 , , 0.9 , , 0.7 , , 0.3 , , 9.1 , -

Professional career

After the end of his senior season, Holmes was automatically eligible for the 1991 NBA draft, but he was not drafted by an NBA franchise. He was drafted by the

Columbus Horizon The Columbus Horizon is a defunct basketball team from Columbus, Ohio that played for five seasons in the Continental Basketball Association from 1989 to 1994. History Plans to bring professional basketball to Columbus were unveiled in September ...

in the 1st round of the 1991 CBA draft (5th overall). In his rookie season in the CBA he started 53 out of 56 games for the Horizon, averaging 17.5 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 37.7 minutes per game, and was selected in the All-Rookie team. In 1992 he moved to the

New Jersey Jammers The New Jersey Jammers, known also as the Jersey Jammers, was a professional basketball in the United States Basketball League (USBL). The team was a charter franchise of the USBL in 1985. In 1985, the Jammers played home games at Lakewood High S ...

of the

United States Basketball League The United States Basketball League (USBL) was a professional men's spring basketball league. The league was formed in 1985 and ceased operations in 2008. The USBL started in 1985 as one of the first basketball leagues to play a late-spring to ...

, and played their last season. He then went back to the Columbus Horizon and played the 1992–93 CBA season there, averaging 8.5 points and 3.6 rebounds per game in 51 appearances. He signed for the Oklahoma City Cavalry after being traded 4 times in a day during the 1993 offseason: he was initially traded from the Columbus Horizon to the Rochester Renegade, which then traded him to the

Hartford Hellcats The Connecticut Pride (From 1993-94 the Hartford Hellcats) were an American professional basketball team based in Hartford, Connecticut that was a member of the Continental Basketball Association. They played in Hartford from 1993 to 2000, primar ...

, which again traded him to the

Rapid City Thrillers The Rapid City Thrillers were a semi-professional basketball team in Rapid City, South Dakota, that competed in the Continental Basketball Association beginning in the 1987 season. They were reincarnated in 1998 as an International Basketball Ass ...

that ultimately traded him a fourth time to the Oklahoma City Cavalry in exchange for Dell Demos and a sixth round pick in the 1993 CBA draft. In his first year with the Cavalry he averaged 14.7 points and 5.8 rebounds: in the summer of 1994 he transferred to the Westchester Stallions of the USBL and earned All-USBL Second Team honors. He started the 1994–95 CBA season with the

Rockford Lightning The Rockford Lightning was a basketball team that played in the Continental Basketball Association. They were based in Rockford, Illinois. History The Lightning were the oldest team in the CBA, originally existing as the Lancaster Red Roses fr ...

, and was traded after 8 games to the Mexico City Aztecas in December 1994 for a first-round pick in the 1995 CBA draft. He ended the season with the Aztecas, averaging a career-high 20.9 points and 5.3 rebounds in 37.9 minutes per game over 44 appearances. In the 1995 offseason Holmes signed again for the Oklahoma City Cavalry and earned All-Star honors for the 1995–96 season, averaging 17.2 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 37 minutes per game, having started all 56 games of the regular season: he also reached the CBA playoffs for the first time in his career, and in 4 games he posted averages of 19.8 points and 6 rebounds in 39.5 minutes. He chose to stay in Oklahoma City also for the following year, and won the 1996–97 CBA championship. In 1997 he moved to

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located enti ...

, signing for Turkish team Emlakbank Ortaköy, where he played 15 games, averaging 19.5 points, 8.8 rebounds and 1 assist per game while shooting 49% from the field and 37.6% from the 3-point line. In 1998 he came back to the United States and signed for the

Quad City Thunder The Quad City Thunder was a Continental Basketball Association franchise that was based in the Quad Cities of Illinois and Iowa. They played in the CBA from the 1987–88 season until the CBA folded in 2001. The Thunder were successful on the co ...

, winning another CBA championship in 1998. After a brief stint in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

with

LNB Pro B The LNB Pro B, commonly known as Pro B, is the 2nd-tier level men's professional basketball league in France. It is the second division of the Ligue Nationale de Basket (LNB), which has organized the league since the year 1987. The regular seaso ...

team Étoile Angers, which released him in September 1998, he played his last season in the CBA (1998–99) averaging 13 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 35 minutes per game. He then signed for the

St. Louis Swarm The St. Louis Swarm was a professional basketball team based in St. Charles, Missouri from 1999 to 2001. They were members of the International Basketball League and won the league's only two championship series in 2000 and 2001. The Swarm played ...

, a franchise of the newly established

International Basketball League The International Basketball League (IBL) was a semi-professional men's basketball league featuring teams from the West Coast of the United States. In 2010 the Albany Legends became the first team in the Northeastern United States to join. The ...

, but played only 4 games before transferring to the Richmond Rhythm: he played 54 games with the Rhythm, starting 36 and averaging 9.9 points and 4 rebounds in the 1999–00 season. He signed for the

Trenton Shooting Stars The Trenton Shooting Stars were a professional basketball team in the International Basketball League (IBL) from 1999 to 2001. History The team was owned by Herb Greenberg and Larry Keating was the president: Kevin Mackey was named coach and dir ...

in 2000, and played his last season of professional basketball with the team in the IBL. He ranks 11th all-time in the CBA for points scored with 5,760.

National team career

Holmes was selected in the United States national team for the

, in a team formed by CBA players: during the tournament he played 9 games, averaging 8.1 points and 0.9 rebounds. Two years later he was called up again by Team USA for the

where he played 5 games averaging 5.2 points and 3.0 rebounds. He earned a total of 14 appearances with the US national team.

Coaching career

After the end of his professional playing career, Holmes started coaching and after a brief experience at Central High School in

Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the U.S. state, state of Oklahoma and List of United States cities by population, 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. ...

, in 2001 he was named assistant coach at

Midwest City High School Midwest City High School is one of two high schools in Midwest City, Oklahoma, United States. The school is part of the Mid-Del School District, and serves more than 1,600 students.

Midwest City, Oklahoma Midwest City is a city in Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, United States, and a part of the Oklahoma City metropolitan area. As of the 2010 census, the population was 54,371, making it the eighth largest city in the state. The city was developed in r ...

, and kept the role until August 2005, when he became assistant coach of Billy Tubbs at

Lamar University Lamar University (Lamar or LU) is a public university in Beaumont, Texas. Lamar has been a member of the Texas State University System since 1995. It was the flagship institution of the former Lamar University System. As of the fall of 2021, t ...

, where he stayed until 2014. He then became an assistant coach at

Norman High School Norman High School is a four-year public high school in Norman, Oklahoma with a steady enrollment of approximately 2,000 students. It is accredited by North Central Association, the Oklahoma State Department of Education and the Oklahoma Seco ...

Norman, Oklahoma Norman () is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Oklahoma, with a population of 128,097 as of 2021. It is the largest city and the county seat of Cleveland County, Oklahoma, Cleveland County, and the second-largest city in the Oklahoma C ...

References

External links

College stats at Sports-Reference.comOklahoma statsTurkish league stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Holmes, Kermit 1969 births Living people African-American basketball players American expatriate basketball people in Mexico American expatriate basketball people in Turkey American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from Oklahoma Basketball players at the 1999 Pan American Games Basketball players from Oklahoma Columbus Horizon players Lamar Cardinals basketball coaches Mexico Aztecas players Oklahoma City Cavalry players Oklahoma Sooners men's basketball players Pan American Games medalists in basketball People from Okmulgee, Oklahoma Power forwards (basketball) Quad City Thunder players Richmond Rhythm players Rockford Lightning players Small forwards St. Louis Swarm players Trenton Shooting Stars players United States men's national basketball team players Pan American Games silver medalists for the United States Medalists at the 1999 Pan American Games 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American sportspeople