Sports

Irresolution incites Internet war of words

SPC basketball star Aaron Holmes finds life isn't always rosy when everyone knows your name.

By JOHN C. COTEY
Published December 16, 2005

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ST. PETERSBURG - Those who know St. Petersburg Catholic's Aaron Holmes describe him as a nice kid, always smiling, always joking, always laughing.

On the court, the mentality of a western gunslinger; off it, clumsily trying to show the same swagger.

Too nice to pull it off.

But some only know Holmes through the cold type of message boards that have painted him as disloyal, confused and overrated.

"The message boards, they have been brutal," said Holmes, a senior guard and Pinellas County's leading scorer, averaging 30 points.

He just shrugs, because he knows it is part of the territory. When you get national acclaim, apparently you are not allowed to change your mind, or consider your options.

Holmes has.

The message board posters buzz about his commitment to North Carolina State, switch to Florida State, quitting AAU ball (which led to a declining national stature in recruiting circles), and his near transfers to other high schools.

"His image took a beating for no reason," SPC coach Mike Moran said. "He made some decisions, and he changed his mind. But he was a kid, and he wasn't the first one to do it.

"The stuff people wrote about him? Garbage."

Moran was so incensed at one point last summer that he signed on to a message board and fired back.

* * *

Holmes, who at 6 feet 5 led his team to the state semifinals the past two seasons, is having fun these days, leading his Barons to an undefeated record. He is more relaxed than he has been in months and has one goal:

A state championship.

For the first time in a while, he is at peace with himself, the college recruiting process behind him (he signed with FSU last month) and his senior season in full swing.

He has handled the pressure of being a top recruit like most kids might: with a lot of indecision. He hated saying no to coaches so much he stopped answering his cell phone, and every time he did answer, someone had a good deal for him.

"It got crazy real quick," Holmes said. "There was a lot of pressure."

Just before Thanksgiving 2004, Holmes visited Raleigh, N.C., a wide-eyed 16-year-old being pulled in a hundred different directions. Everyone knew who he was, he watched a scrimmage in front of 13,000 fans who called his name, and he met Larry Bird.

As he basked in all of his basketball glory, Holmes committed to join the Wolfpack.

The calls didn't stop, with some universities using local conduits to sway Holmes.

Three months later, he changed his mind.

"I think that's when it all started," Moran said. "That's when I first started seeing negative comments, as if he was the first kid to change his commitment."

They said he was too flighty. Disloyal. One recruiting Web site out of North Carolina dropped him 40 spots in its ratings. Holmes even received some nasty e-mails from jilted Wolfpack fans.

"Man, I went on this one thread, and there were like 75 responses in it," Holmes said. "I looked at it, and just thought man, there's a lot of people mad at me."

* * *

Holmes hoped to improve his image during the AAU season last summer, but bailed out of a bad situation in mid summer.

His standing as a nationally-ranked player slipping, Holmes decided he was needed at home, where his single mother was trying to raise his 5-year-old sister, Chelsea. So he quit.

"I just thought I should be home with my mom, who was trying to watch my sister and work," Holmes said. "She wanted me home, and I'm real close to her, so that's what I did."

But the message boards continued to buzz. From the start of the summer, Holmes was flirting with transferring to Florida Prep, a Bradenton school that no longer competes in the FHSAA and instead plays a national prep schedule.

Holmes made it no secret to Moran, one of the only people in his life not pulling or pushing him in a direction.

"I think that the fact that he even came to me and told me he was thinking about transferring says something," Moran said. "I've certainly tried to be a (grounding influence). Like a lot of young guys, he doesn't have a ton of guidance. I just told him if that's what he wanted to do, then he should do it."

Some nights, Holmes would go to bed set on transferring to Florida Prep, which he felt would further his basketball career. By morning, he had changed his mind again. Moran received calls asking why Holmes had transferred.

The message boards, again buzzing, criticized him for abandoning SPC when he hadn't.

"You had people people saying he's not loyal and all that, but he's extremely loyal," Moran said. "Part of the problem is he just has a hard time saying no, but that doesn't make him disloyal. Once he sat down and had a chance to think about it, he couldn't turn away from these guys."

Holmes has saved all the negative message board threads. They are now in his scrapbook, toward the back. "I keep the good stuff up front," he said.

He thinks it's all over. There are no more decisions to make. Now, it's back to just doing what he loves most, playing basketball.

"I'm happy with my decisions," Holmes said. "The whole experience the last year has been tough, but I learned a lot.

"Everyone told me not to pay attention to all that stuff, but I don't know any high schooler that can just ignore it. It was getting to me a little bit. But I got over it. Now, I just want to go out and have some fun."

[Last modified December 16, 2005, 00:55:10]

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