The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
03.22.2017 | Women's Basketball
Joyner Holmes was the 2017 Big 12 Conference Freshman of the Year.
By: Sean Cartell
TexasSports.com
AUSTIN, Texas – Almost as if it was scripted, the strong and rapid development of Texas Women's Basketball freshman Joyner Holmes will culminate on Friday in Lexington, Ky., when No. 14 Texas faces No. 6 Stanford in the NCAA Regional Semifinal.
The low and high water marks of Holmes' already impressive career-to-date on the Forty Acres serve as symbolic bookends to her freshman year.
She looks to play a major role in extending the Longhorns' season as long as possible.
Holmes, the nation's No. 2 recruit according to ESPN.com entering this season, on Tuesday made the same analysis when she, unexpectedly, found herself re-watching the team's season-opening 71-59 loss in Palo Alto, Calif.
Coming off the bench in the lid-lifter, Holmes had just three points and three rebounds in 17 minutes of action. She was admittedly overwhelmed by her first experience on the big stage of college basketball. In a top-10 matchup. On the road.
"I talked to my dad [Ron] the other day and he said that it looked like I had butterflies in my stomach," Holmes said on Tuesday afternoon following her team's practice at the Frank Erwin Center. "My eyes were just really big and I didn't play my best. I feel like I've gotten more comfortable as the season has gone on."
Teammate Brooke McCarty, the 2017 Big 12 Conference Player of the Year, has taken note of Holmes' steady progress, and believes that the biggest component in the rookie's growth has been her increased confidence.
"I think [the first matchup with Stanford] was just an overwhelming experience for her," McCarty said. "It would be for any freshman. She has calmed down and really found her role on this team. As the games have gone along, I think all of our freshmen have gotten more and more confident."
Fast forward just more than four months later.
Holmes, named the 2017 Big 12 Conference Freshman of the Year and a first-team All-Big 12 selection, made two of the biggest plays of her collegiate career in a tight game with No. 17 N.C. State last Sunday in an NCAA Second Round game that came down to the wire.
It would be up to Holmes in the final seconds to help lead her team to its third consecutive NCAA Regional Semifinal appearance.
With 8.4 seconds left and Texas leading by one point, Holmes took a charge on N.C. State's Dominique Wilson. After teammate Lashann Higgs hit a free-throw at the other end to put the Longhorns ahead by two, Holmes stretched to tip the ball to herself and then finished with a put-back with 5.1 seconds remaining to clinch the 84-80 victory.
"If the ball is in my hands and I know time is running down, then I know I have to do something," Holmes said. "Recently, it has been in my hands, so I think my teammates trust me enough to put me in those positions."
Holmes improvement from November to March can, in large part, be credited to her commitment to becoming the best player she can possibly be.
It would be easy for a young player, who consistently draws comparisons to LeBron James and possesses a full toolbox of innate talents that are envied by players across the country, to not commit to the process. To expect talent to win out over hard work. To make excuses for a difficult adjustment to the college game.
Holmes, instead, listened to feedback and went to work. And she studied the game.
"Since I've been here, I've watched a lot of film," Holmes said. "I've watched film of my teammates, of myself, and of my execution."
The numbers and accolades back that up. During the regular season, Holmes was a seven-time Big 12 Conference Freshman of the Week. On February 13, espnW named Holmes its National Player of the Week and the USBWA recognized her as its National Freshman of the Week.
Holmes averages 12.0 points per game, 8.2 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game. She has charted eight double-doubles, has scored in double figures 22 times and has 10 games with double-figure rebounding totals. Among Big 12 Conference freshmen, she ranks first in points per game, rebounds per game and double-doubles.
Despite the success, Holmes is committed to improving every day. She hopes that her hard work will lead to a different outcome this time when Texas faces Stanford. And, more importantly, she looks to help her team advance to its second consecutive NCAA Elite Eight.
"The motto for the tournament is survive and advance, so I'm basically just trying to keep that in my mind," Holmes said. "We're just trying to play as long as we can."
