USC’s Holden ready after watching Final Four run

His ring will be just as shiny as everyone else’s, and his smile when South Carolina advanced to the Final Four was as wide as his teammates’ as they crammed together, hugging the East Regional trophy with cuts of the net tasseled to their brand-new caps.

Kory Holden was part of last season’s run to Phoenix. He was in practice, trying to deny SEC Player of the Year Sindarius Thornwell his points and trying to score over the defense of Duane Notice.

But he was sitting across the court in New York, in a great spot five rows off the floor, but not the primo seat, right on the hardwood as part of the Gamecocks’ bench. Such is the life of a transfer player, who had to sit out a year and couldn’t play during the greatest season in program history.

Holden gets his chance next year. You don’t bring in a guy like him and not play him, and his points with the Blue Hens (17.7 as a sophomore) beckon to a team that lost three of its top four scorers.

Maybe he’ll get USC back to that NCAA tournament stage. Only this time, he’ll be the star instead of in the audience.

“Even though we don’t play games until next November … he’s been confined to certain things,” coach Frank Martin said. “Well, he’s not confined anymore. His voice, his energy, who he is can start becoming more relevant in the locker room because now he can start playing.”

Holden spoke in December about sitting out, a year that was excruciating because he couldn’t play in the games, but valuable because he was learning how to play at USC without costing himself minutes. If he made a mistake, he didn’t have to sit down during a crucial part of the game; it was get back in the drill and try not to do it again.

“I think with my leadership and having two years in college and knowing what to expect will help me a lot. Strength-wise, I’ve put on some weight, I’ve matured a bit being under Frank’s system,” Holden said. “I have to defend on every possession. Offense, I’m not really worried about that. You guard, you’ll be fine.”

Holden was a star at Delaware, but the Blue Hens didn’t win, logging a combined 17 victories in two seasons. He was a valuable commodity on the transfer market, ESPN labeling him the No. 2 transfer in the country, and the big boys were lining up to get him.

He could have taken his pick of any tournament team from 2016. He could have pledged to perennial Big 12 champion and trendy Final Four pick Kansas.

He chose USC, watched as the Jayhawks again failed to get to the final weekend and said hello to another team that recruited him, Oregon, once the Gamecocks got to Phoenix.

“Frank,” Holden said of the deciding factor. “Something about coach Frank, that person who’s going to be there for you. The loyalty he showed me, he talked to me every day. The team here was a great team, and I loved the program. I felt at home.”

Holden did his transfer year, had a minor clean-out procedure on his knee during it and is ready to go this summer. The S.C. Pro-Am will start soon, giving Holden a chance to play competitive pick-up games with other college players, and he’s already asked Martin for freshman phone numbers, so he can reach out to them.

“I’d rather have that than a guy that kind of is so consumed with himself he doesn’t care about the incoming players,” Martin said. “Now once they get here, he’ll embrace leadership in whatever way he wants to embrace it, and it’s my job to help him. His voice and his personality can become stronger, especially after learning how a winning locker room operates.”

Holden’s second life begins now.

“I know this will be the year to get stronger, get better, learn the system,” he said. “See how Frank coaches, so next year, I’ll be ready to go.”

This story was originally published April 29, 2017 at 4:24 PM with the headline "USC’s Holden ready after watching Final Four run."