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Top 30 junior DaRon Holmes Jr. is one of the best out West

DaRon Holmes Jr.
DaRon Holmes Jr. (Matt Moreno/GOAZCATS.com)

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- One of the most heavily recruited post players on the West Coast, top 30 junior DaRon Holmes Jr. is already putting in plenty of homework for his college decision.

A bouncy and energetic four man at Goodyear (Ariz.) Millenium who ranks No. 26 nationally in the class of 2021, the 6-foot-8 Holmes already holds offers from Arizona, Arizona State, Illinois, Kansas, Marquette, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, UCLA, USC, Vanderbilt, Virginia and Wake Forest among others.

With that type of ranking and early offers, there's often a target but Holmes is still operating as if he needs to prove himself while focusing on his team.

“I think I’m still kind of under the radar," said Holmes. "Our team, we have a target on our back and that’s what I think is really tough because we are going to get everybody’s best”

IN HIS OWN WORDS

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Holmes has already taken official visits to Marquette and VIrginia and has seen Arizona, Arizona State, Kansas and USC unofficially. He discussed his impressions of each.

Arizona: “What stands out when I go to U of A is they get people to the NBA. That’s big, Sean Miller is excellent, they run really fast which fits my game pretty well.

Arizona State: “It’s like home because I’m close. I really like the way they play and I think they fit me too. It’s great, I like it.”

Kansas: “The Kansas unofficial was great. Bill Self is a great head coach and they have prodigies there, really good players. I was there a couple of months ago.”

Marquette: “It was great, the people were great and everybody is really nice and they have great character. (Steve Wojciechowski) and coach (Stan) Johnson, those are some great coaches. They have a lot of money for a program, so we looked into how much they put into the athletes and all of the perks that they have.”

USC: “USC was great, I loved it. Coach (Chris) Capko and Coach (Andy) Enfield they know what they are doing and they always have great recruits coming in.”

Virginia: “You can tell that that’s a team that wants to win. As soon as you go in nobody is selfish and everybody plays hard. They play for the coach and coach (Tony) Bennett is a player’s coach which makes a huge difference.”

RIVALS' REACTION

Holmes Jr. is every bit as energetic off the floor as he is on it and has personality that attracts people to him. Behind the scenes coaches love recruiting him and they of course like that he's a long and athletic player with some promise as a faceup player down the road.

Holmes said that his next trip will most likely be to Texas Tech, but that he didn't have a date set just yet.

With so many schools involved, he's going to need to narrow things out at some point but said he's in no rush to do so. For now, Holmes is eyeing a decision during the late signing period. He isn't leaning to any school or another early and is just doing what he can to survey the landscape.

“Just where I will fit in well and I can play my role really well with the team," said Holmes of what he's looking for. "Also where I can develop and have a great relationship with the team and the coaching staff.

“(I am) watching their games on tv. Studying them, taking notes on visits and just learning what they do.”

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