Aug. 10, 2005

BEAUMONT - Kermit Holmes, who played for Lamar coach Billy Tubbs at Oklahoma, is the newest addition to the Cardinals' coaching staff, announced Tubbs.

"We're excited to have Kermit (Holmes) join our staff," Tubbs said. "He is very familiar with our offensive and defensive schemes, having played for me, and will be an asset in helping develop our inside players. He's a good addition to our staff."

Holmes has been a basketball coach at Midwest City (Okla.) High School since 2001 and also coached the Athletes First AAU 16-17 and under team since 2001. Prior to that, he was a coach at Central HS in Tulsa, Okla. in 2000-01.

Holmes enjoyed an extensive professional career playing both in the U.S. and overseas. He played for a number of CBA teams, including the Columbus Horizon (1991-93), Oklahoma City Calvary (1993-94, 1995-97), Rockford Lightning (1994-95) and Quad City Thunder (1997-99). He also played in professional leagues in Mexico City, Mexico; Istanbul, Turkey; and Angers, France.

While playing with Oklahoma City, Holmes was named to the CBA All-Star team in 1996 and helped the Calvary win the CBA championship in 1997.

Holmes played collegiate at Oklahoma from 1989-91 for Tubbs. He earned team MVP honors in 1991 after averaging 14.8 points per game and leading the team in rebounding at 9.3 rpg.

Additionally, Holmes helped Oklahoma post a two-year record of 47-20. The 1990 Sooners reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament and the 1991 squad advanced to the championship game of the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

"This is just a blessing and is something I've been working towards for a long time," Holmes said when asked about joining the Lamar basketball staff. "Coaching is something I always wanted to do after I finished playing and this is a tremendous opportunity for me. I'm really excited to be able to learn from someone with the experience of coach Tubbs, who I was fortunate enough to play for, as well.

"I know coach Tubbs' system, because I played in that system. I'm looking forward to working with the big guys to help them both individually and as a team. I hope they're ready to work hard."

Holmes, who earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Oklahoma, organized the Kermit Holmes Annual Girls and Boys Basketball Camp in 1996 and established the Kermit Holmes Scholarship Award in 1997.