It didn’t take Caleb Holt long to make an impression on Buckhorn basketball coach Patrick Harding.
“I met him in May of his seventh-grade season,” Harding said. “I had just been hired and I went over to watch him. Obviously, the first time you see him you can’t believe his physical appearance at that age. In seventh grade, he already looked like someone who was about to graduate high school.
“It was quite a first impression I must say.”
Holt has continued to impress since that day, leading the Bucks to back-to-back Class 6A state championships as a freshman and sophomore. On Tuesday, the 6-foot-6 forward was named the state’s 42nd Mr. Basketball by the Alabama Sports Writers Association. Spring Garden junior Ace Austin was named Miss Basketball at the annual banquet in Montgomery sponsored by the Alabama High School Athletic Directors and Coaches Association and ALFA Insurance.
“Obviously, Caleb’s athletic ability is one thing that sets him apart,” Harding said. “He is such a fierce competitor. That is what separates him from other talented players. He is a first-class competitor, and his will to win is just off the chart. We see it in postseason games in front of a lot of people, but I see it every day in practice as well.”
Holt, who also was named 6A Player of the Year on Tuesday for the second straight season, averaged 20.2 points, 9.5 rebounds, 3 steals and 2.4 assists for the Bucks (23-5) this season. He once again was named MVP of the Class 6A state tournament and already this year has been named the Gatorade and MaxPreps Alabama Player of the Year.
“It feels great being honored with 6A Player of the Year and Mr. Basketball,” he said. “The Alabama sports writers put a lot of hard work into these awards. It’s special for me to receive both of them.”
Holt is Buckhorn’s first Mr. Basketball winner. He is the seventh underclassmen to win the award but the first sophomore.
“Athletically, he’s about as good as I’ve seen,” former Jacksonville State head coach and Alabama Sports Hall of Fame member Bill Jones said following Holt’s 37-point performance in the state semifinals. “He’s so quick. I’m sitting on the floor behind the basket. He stole a ball right in front of me and in three dribbles he’s on the other end of the floor. He’s an exceptional talent.”
Harding said Holt’s best quality may be is on ball defense.
“I think at the next level you are going to see that,” he said. “He is a phenomenal on ball defender. Offensively, his playmaking skills continue to grow. He’s getting better and better at decision making and passing the basketball.”
Harding has heard Holt compared to a pair of former Mr. Basketball winners in the state – Butler’s Trevor Lacey and Childersburg’s Gerald Wallace. He said he thinks Holt, at his age, is more physically gifted than Lacey was and a better all-around player than Wallace at this point.
Holt already has scored 1,798 points in his prep career with two years left.
Could he be a top draft pick in the NBA down the road?
“At this point, you would think so,” Harding said. “I’m not good at forecasting that type of thing. However, I think if he keeps progressing at the rate he has over the last three years, it’s certainly possible. I know that’s his goal. That is what he’s striving toward.”
Holt also was named to the ASWA Super All-State team, the top five players in the state regardless of classification or position. He was joined by Hoover’s DeWayne Brown, Huntsville’s Caleb Harrison, Mountain Brook’s Ty Davis and Valley’s Cam Dooley.
The ASWA named boys and girls players of the year in each of the seven AHSAA classifications and in the AISA on Tuesday. The boys winners were Brown (7A), Holt (6A), Dooley (5A), Jackson’s Micah Caster (4A), Hillcrest-Evergreen’s Trey Simpson (3A), Mars Hill’s Carson Thrasher (2A), Covenant Christian’s Trey Kellogg (1A) and Lee-Scott’s Haiden Harper (AISA).
MR. BASKETBALL WINNERS
1983 – Terry Coner, Phillips-Birmingham
1984 – Jeff Moore, Midfield
1985 - Vincent Robinson, Bridgeport
1986 - Larry Rembert, Keith
1987 - Bryant Lancaster, Valley
1988 - Terrance Lewis, Ramsay
1989 - Queintonia Higgins, Fairhope
1990 - Cedric Moore, Woodlawn
1991 - Victor Newman, Houston Academy
1992 - Darryl Wilson, South Lamar
1993 - Howard Pride, Butler
1994 - Rod Willie, Lee-Huntsville
1995 - Brian Williams, Jeff Davis
1996 - Isaac Spencer, Jeff Davis
1997 - Anthony Williams, Loachapoka
1998 - Sam Haginas, UMS-Wright
1999 - Marvin Stone, Grissom
2000 - Gerald Wallace, Childersburg
2001 - Chris White, Grissom
2002 - Kennedy Winston, Blount
2003 - Ronald Steele, John Carroll
2004 - Ronald Steele, John Carroll
2005 - Richard Hendrix, Athens
2006 - Stanley Robinson, Huffman
2007 - Courtney Fortson, Jeff Davis
2008 - JaMychal Green, St. Jude
2009 - Kerron Johnson, Madison Academy
2010 - Trevor Lacey, Butler
2011 - Trevor Lacey, Butler
2012 - Craig Sword, Carver-Montgomery
2013 - De’Runnya Wilson, Wenonah
2014 - William Lee, Dallas County
2015 – Dazon Ingram, Theodore
2016 - John Petty, J.O. Johnson
2017 - John Petty, Mae Jemison
2018 - Trendon Watford, Mountain Brook
2019 - Trendon Watford, Mountain Brook
2020 – J.D. Davison, Calhoun
2021 – J.D. Davison, Calhoun
2022 – Barry Dunning Jr., McGill-Toolen
2023 – Labaron Philon, Baker
2024 – Caleb Holt, Buckhorn
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