Nice article on Holcomb

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Randy Holcomb - Second Time Around

by Mike Lieberman, Sixers.com

posted July 10, 2003

The Sixers acquired the draft rights to Randy Holcomb and John Salmons, along with veteran Mark Bryant from the San Antonio Spurs for guard Speedy Claxton Draft night 2002.

We know that Salmons went on to play for the Sixers in 2002-03 and Bryant was involved in the deal that brought Kenny Thomas to the Sixers, but what happened to Holcomb?

"I found out in September (2002) that I would be playing in Europe. There was not enough room for me here. It did not make sense for me to stay. We all came to the realization last year that this was not going to be a good situation for me here," said Holcomb who averaged 9.0 ppg in seven games while playing for Idea-Slask Wroclaw (Poland) and 14.6 ppg in 11 games in the Polish PLK League.

Holcomb is now back in Philadelphia for the Sixers Rookie and Free Agent camp. He is getting ready for the Sixers Summer Leagues with hopes of getting an invite to Training Camp and eventually a spot on the regular season roster.

"This year it’s a little easier for me because I understand what’s going on and how fast things are going. We are doing a lot of the same things as last year. Not only that, but it is something I have been waiting a year for to come back and try to make this league," said Holcomb who averaged 1.3 points in six games of Summer League action last year.

At six-foot-nine, Holcomb sees himself as a multi-dimensional player.

"I think I bring a measure of versatility, as well I think I can play a couple of positions on the floor," said Holcomb the day after he was acquired by the Sixers. "I think I can defend most positions on the floor, and just look to make open shots."

Before he was acquired by the Sixers, the San Diego State product enjoyed a successful two-year career as an Aztec, where he averaged 16.9 points as a senior and was named MWC First Team and MVP of the MWC Tournament. Prior to playing at San Diego State, he had a one year stint at LA City College and Fresno State.

Coming out of school, Holcomb saw himself as "battle tested."

"I think that’s one of the advantages that we have on a lot of the guys who play one year or come out of junior college or don’t play college ball at all," said Holcomb at his post Draft press conference. "I think that we have a level of maturity that most young guys don’t have coming into this league."

Now after a year of professional internationl experience, how does Holcomb see his game?

"I know I got stronger and wiser. I think it helped my skills a lot. Over in Europe, everyone can play," said Holcomb.

If anything Holcomb will walk away with an expereince that he never dreamed he would get.

"It took me about two months to adjust to life over there," he said. "It was the first time I had been out of this country. Basketball is pretty much the same wherever you go. But living with people you don’t know, living in situations that you don’t understand, makes it hard.

"I think it would have been better if there was another American on the team. For a long time, I was the only American there. When I got there, the other American was sent home. I was the only American in the whole town. It was very, very hard not to have a friend or somebody you could talk to that really understood you without having to explain things over and over."

Even shopping at first was a chore. Holcomb recalled that it took him a half an hour just to get a "kilo" of ground beef. And while he had a nice apartment, driving also became a first time expereince.

"The car I had was a Daewoo. It was extremely small and it had a stick," he said. "It was the first time I had driven a stick, so I had to learn that. I jerked around town for the first two months. It was an experience."

Now that he is back in the United States, Holcomb is getting another chance. He looks forward to making an impact with the Sixers and bring a defensive dimension.

"I think that I can contribute to this team in one way in particular – playing defense," he said. "I think if I can defend and rebound, I can help this team a lot."

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This kid sounds like he could be a good filler type of player and hey we were very pleasantly surprised by how well the last filler player we got from the Sixers did, Nazr.....right? If he can bring some toughness and defense to the SF spot coming off the bench that would definitely help to alleviate the loss of Newble.