Holt Commits to Oregon State; Talks About Decision

LOS ANGELES -- Justin Holt, a scrappy and hard working 6-6, 193 pound forward from Lincoln H.S. in Tacoma, Wash., has committed to Oregon State.

Holt, who played here at the Best of the Summer Tournament with the Seattle Rotary program, spoke to the Insiders Report on Tuesday afternoon from Loyola Marymount University.

It was just after he had helped Rotary advance to the Sweet 16 with a victory over the Jackrabbits. Later on Tuesday night, Rotary was later eliminated by the FOH #1 team out of Washington).

"They have been recruiting hard for a while, especially after the basketball season," Holt explained. "Coach McKay is an awesome guy -- he really told me some things that I liked, plus the campus and where they are at in the PAC 10, I want to help them move up. The staff has been nothing but nice to me and the school is only located three and a half hours away from home, and I can stay with my mom, who I am close to."

Despite his fairly lanky frame, Holt is a physical and athletic player who defends the post well. The majority of his offense comes close to the basket, but Holt can step out and knock down the occasional jumper, more from short to mid range than the three area.

On top of that, Holt is just 16-years old. He said that doctors are projecting that he may continue to grow over the next few years, and if that's the case, he could even be a power forward prospect at the next level. Right now, he projects as a small forward at the next level.

Holt said he had scholarship offers from Wyoming, Idaho, UC-Irvine, Loyola Marymount and Portland. He also had seen interest from Gonzaga and Washington State, though they had yet to offer the developing forward.

"A lot of schools offered me early, and I came down here and got a couple of more offers," Holt said. "But the thing about it was that I knew in my heart that Coach McKay and Dickerson are awesome guys. I am not just going to forget who recruited me first and that was them."

Holt had attended Oregon State's team basketball camp as a freshman, and formed an intense bond with the school despite a coaching change in the basketball program last year.

Potential playing time was another big factor for Holt.

"Basically, I am going to play," Holt said. "I am going to play in the PAC 10 and get some minutes as a freshman, and I am going to be playing around seniors so that my sophomore year comes around I could be starting for three years. I want to play, get out there and learn the program. It's a great opportunity for me."

Holt will unofficially visit Oregon State this Friday, August 3.

What can Oregon State fans look forward to from in Holt?

"I am going to bring athleticism, hard defense, I can stick a guy from the one through five positions," he said. "I need to work on ball handling, but I think I can develop into a good three man in college."

This past season at Lincoln H.S., Holt averaged 16.7 points, 8.4 rebounds, three assists, four steals and three blocks per game.

He competed at three major July events with Seattle Rotary -- the Best of the Summer, the adidas Big Time and finalscore.com basketball tournaments.