Domenic Holland and the Fulton Falcons won 69-64 over the Scott Highlanders in a TSSAA Region 2-AA tournament semifinal at Jody Wright Arena in Knoxville, Tennessee, on Tuesday, March 3, 2020. (Photo by Danny Parker)
Domenic Holland made his college commitment announcement on Twitter, like so many of his peers do.
But he didn’t commit to continue playing.
He announced a commitment of a much different kind, as 5Star Preps writer Dave Link tells below …
Domenic Holland (20) and the Fulton Falcons took down the Cosby Eagles 65-49 in Maryville Christmas Tournament action in Maryville, Tennessee, on Thursday, Dec. 26, 2019. (Photo by Danny Parker)
By DAVE LINK
Domenic Holland is ready to take the next step in his basketball career.
Fulton’s multi-talented senior announced on Twitter that he will attend Maryville College starting this fall — to be a manager on the men’s team.
At least at this point.
“My plans for right now is just to be a manager,” Holland said. “So far, I decided not to play basketball and see basketball from a different aspect besides being a player, see what else goes into the works of it and stuff.”
His plans could change. Holland has a place on Maryville College’s roster if he wants it.
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“We recruited him as a player, not a manager,” Scots coach Raul Placeres said.
Holland was granted a scholarship in Maryville College’s Bonner Scholars program, which are awarded to students active in community service at their high schools with goals to continue doing so in college. Each student in the Bonner Scholars program is required to volunteer 10 hours each week to a non-profit organization during the academic year and complete 280 hours of community service during two summers.
“The biggest thing for Dom which I’m so happy for is he basically got our best scholarship at the college, which made it very affordable for him to come to school,” Placeres said. “You had to interview for (the Bonner Scholars program). A lot of kids interview for it, and he was selected as one of them, so he made as big of an impression on them as he’s made on us during his recruiting for the last six or seven months. He’s just a fine young man with a very promising future.”
The 6-foot-2 Holland started full time as a junior and senior at Fulton and averaged about 10 points this past season. He scored the team-high 17 points in the Falcons’ season-ending loss at Greeneville in the Class AA state sectionals.
“(Holland) can play any position,” Fulton coach Jody Wright said. “He even played a little point (guard). He played both post spots and guard spots.
“He’s just a versatile guy. Because he can play so many different positions, he’s got a lot of different perspectives. He’s got a broader range of perspectives than a guy who played one position. It’s like a baseball player who can play multiple positions. I think Dom has a good knowledge of the game because he’s played so many different positions.”
Holland, who would be a guard in college, has several reasons for wanting to be a manager at Maryville College.
His cousin, former Bearden player Isaiah Campbell, was a manager for Tennessee’s basketball team and is currently a graduate assistant with Georgia State’s basketball team.
“He said it wasn’t really so bad for him not playing,” Holland said. “He said he really enjoyed bonding with the team, getting to go to the same places they go.”
Respect my decision, Go Scots!🧡❤️ pic.twitter.com/uCWhOd2xjo
— Domenic Holland Jr. (@DomoBucket) March 2, 2020
Holland has two friends and former AAU teammates who will join the Scots’ basketball team this coming year – Caden Cupp of Gibbs and Trevan Jackson of Karns – along with Zach Tilley of The King’s Academy.
After four years of playing at Fulton, Holland isn’t sure he’s ready to commit to the rigors of playing college basketball. Holland was a member of Fulton’s teams that made back-to-back appearances in the Class AA state championship games in 2018 and ’19.
“My body’s a little bit worn down from playing for coach Wright for four years, so I decided I was just going to take a break for now,” Holland said. “I may try to hop back in my sophomore year (at Maryville College), but I still plan on keeping myself in shape and stuff so I don’t become a couch potato. I want to keep myself healthy.”
Holland is considering getting into coaching. His experience playing for Wright taught him life lessons.
“That’s one of my options is to become a coach because I like seeing people grow,” Holland said. “That’s one thing that I’ve seen a lot from being a player of coach Wright’s. It’s about the work that you put in. You’re always going to get a result from whatever you do. That’s been another part of it, really, just seeing how coach Wright, how he’s done it for so long, he’s made it to Murfreesboro countless times. He tells us all the time there’s no magic pill you can take for work ethic. It’s about grinding it out and stuff.”
Placeres knows the drill.
He was a standout high school guard in Miami, played two years at Keystone Junior College, and played his last two years at Maryville College, graduating in 2006. He coached Gatlinburg-Pittman’s boys from 2006-11 before joining Randy Lambert’s staff for the next eight seasons.
Placeres was announced as MC’s coach when Lambert retired in 2019. He sees potential in Holland as a coach.
“I think for him being 18 years old, he’s extremely mature,” Placeres said. “He has a vision and a plan for what he wants to do, even at such an early age. As a coach, one of the biggest things you deal with on a consistent basis is how do you balance your time, and I think he does a very good job of that at 18 years old.
“As he gets around us, if (coaching is) something that he wants to do, obviously I’m going to help him in every way that I can help him to one day become a coach, but I think he can learn to become a coach while he plays as well (as if he was a manager).”
Wright says Holland could help the Scots on the court.
“(Holland) had a couple of Division III opportunities to play,” Wright said. “His best basketball is probably ahead of him. He’s long, 6-2, and versatile. He was our best on-ball defender. He guarded everybody from a post player to a guard. When we played Alcoa, he guarded (6-4 guard/wing) Nick Roberts. He was able to guard a guy in the post or on the perimeter.”