Webster’s Dictionary defines the term X-Factor as “a variable in a given situation that could have the most significant impact on the outcome”. If there were a depiction accompanying the definition of X-Factor in the dictionary, it would certainly be a picture of Paxon Girls Basketball’s Reese Holman.
Just a sophomore, Holman is a starting power forward on the team, specializing in grabbing rebounds and blocking shots. She averages 4.5 rebounds per game (tops on the team), while also averaging 5.8 points per game. Yet statistics aren’t the only thing that Reese brings to the court for the Golden Eagles.
This past Friday, Paxon won it’s first ever Girls Basketball Gateway Conference Championship defeating Atlantic Coast 68-57. Holman held it down in the game, scoring 10 points (third on the team) and securing 4 rebounds (tied for first on the team). The Golden Eagles took down powerhouse Ribault 61-60 in the tournament semifinals on their way to the title. Holman led the team with 8 rebounds in that game, which saw Paxon defeat Ribault for the first time in school history.
Said Holman after the championship game “It feels great to work with my team and work with the coaches to help build something for the school and for the program it’s really great”. – Reese Holman
However, this wasn’t Holman’s first time helping to build something new for a school and for a program. Just two years ago, the sophomore sensation was an eight grade star on the James Weldon Johnson middle school basketball team.
As a Trojan, Holman helped lead James Weldon Johnson to it’s first ever Duval County Middle School Girl’s Basketball Championship. She was named Championship MVP guiding them to their first ever undefeated season. So for Holman, a Gateway Conference Championship just two years later doesn’t seem unprecedented, but rather inevitable.
In a time when basketball players want to dribble and shoot from half-court, Holman is a true throw-back type of player that can make old-school ballers like Dennis Rodman or Rebekkah Brunson proud. She sacrifices her body, diving for loose balls on the floor and banging down low in the paint with players much bigger and taller. Yet the 5 foot 9 forward never flinches and is never phased.
Earlier in the season, she dove for a loose ball hitting her head on the hardwood. She then sought medical attention from the trainer, but would return to the game just moments later after receiving a band-aid to stop her bleeding. After the game, she’d see a doctor where Holman was informed that she had finished her game unknowingly playing with a concussion. Needless to say she would sit out the next couple of contests.
Yet that’s just how tough and determined she is, committed to making a difference for her team. Said Holman, “I just want to make sure that I’m always there for my teammates, doing everything I can”. She has certainly showed up for her team in so many ways. “A noteworthy special talent and quality“. The exact definition of an X-Factor.
