“DaRon Holmes is too nice…What he needs to do is put on a pair of boxing gloves and do an impersonation of former heavyweight champion Larry Holmes.” – Hal McCoy
Even though the University of Dayton Flyers laid an unhatched egg in the Atlantic 10 tournament, losing their first game to Duquesne – the eventual tournament champion – the NCAA was impressed enough with UD’s overall accomplishments and invited them as a No. 7 seed to the March Madness party with a game Thursday in Salt Lake City against Nevada.
Dayton, OH — It doesn’t take Sherlock Holmes to figure out DaRon Holmes II.
He is too nice, too unselfish. And that’s no knock. That’s reality and it isn’t necessarily a negative trait.
Exhibit A unfolded Thursday night in Brooklyn when the University of Dayton was upset in the Atlantic 10 tournament by Duquesne, 65-59.
Hall of famer Hal McCoy writes UD Flyer basketball exclusively for Press Pros Magazine.com.
Even though the Flyers were swiftly and unceremoniously booted out of the A-10 tournament in their first assignment, the NCAA tournament committee saw the positive side of the Flyers.
UD was invited to the March Madness clambake, a No. 7 seed in the West region. They’ll take on No. 10 seed Nevada (26-7) out of the not-too-strong Mountain West.
It will take place Thursday night in Salt Lake City. If the Flyers win, they’ll most like play No. 2 seed Arizona on Saturday.
But back to Dayton’s faiIure and flop in the A-10 against Duquesne, which went on to win the tournament.
In the first half, Holmes didn’t even look at the basket, fearing if he did it might turn him into stone. As soon as he got the ball, he whipped it out to a teammate as if the basketball was a balloon filled the nitric acid or nitroglycerin.
He took two shots in the first half, missed them both, and took the intermission break with three points on free throws.
To be sure, as usual, Duquesne surrounded Holmes like three cops putting handcuffs on a grand larcenist.
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That’s when Holmes is too nice. What he needs to do is put on a pair of boxing gloves and do an impersonation of former heavyweight champion Larry Holmes.
And as so often happens this season, Holmes comes out of the halftime dressing room a different man, as if he swallowed a bottle of Carter’s Get Tough pills.
Even with three muggers hanging on his arm, he attacked the basket as if he was storming the Alamo or Bunker Hill. He scored or he was fouled.
Every game, opposing defenders hit him in the mouth with everything but heavy highway paving equipment. He stands his ground without a whimper and makes them pay.
Against Duquense he scored 21 points in the second half. He scored 24 for the game. He was fouled 12 times and made 13 of 16 free throws.
He also commandeered 13 rebounds to provide himself with his 12th double-double of the season.
One wonders what the outcome might have been if Holmes, a 6-10 junior, had expressed himself in the first half the way he did in the second half. But lay no blame at the bottom of his black Nike sneakers.
He received nearly no support from his supporting cast. Holmes was 5 for 13 from the field, nothing for which to bow from the waist. But the other guys were 11 for 37, doing about as much damage as a runaway chapel curtain.
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They could not conjugate Duquesne’s aggressive defense, making the basket a bridge too far for the Flyers.
UD coach Anthony Grant continues to be Holmes’ No. 1 fan, implying that a final coat of varnish will make him a polished product.
A basketball court is 4,700 square feet and Holmes plays every inch of it as an offensive ogre and a defensive demon.
“DaRon has been one of the best players in the country for three years,” he said during a post-game media conference after losing to Duquesne. “It has already been spoken of, it’s already been proven about what he is capable of doing.
“He’s 21 years old and still learning, still getting better, ” Grant added. “I would not put tonight’s result on any one individual. Our team was out of character. We didn’t do the things that has allowed us to have a chance to be successful in 24 of 31 nights.”
Fortunately, UD’s high NET ranking that was attained with some quality wins over LSU, St. John’s, SMU and Cincinnati, gives them one last chance with their trip to the NCAA tournament.
They achieved a goal of going unbeaten at home (15-0), but came up far short of their goals of winning the A-10 regular season title and the A-10 tournament.
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