Cooney: Richaun Holmes belongs in talk about Sixers' big men

WHEN 76ERS president Bryan Colangelo made no trades this past offseason, the talk that dominated over the summer was how three big men - Joel Embiid, Jahlil Okafor and Nerlens Noel - could possibly find enough time on the court.

Of course, early in the season, it was expected to play out a little more easily, as Embiid's minutes were going to be strictly restricted, including keeping him out of back-to-back games, and Okafor was still recovering from the March surgery on his torn meniscus.

Through all the speculation of how coach Brett Brown could make things work, Richaun Holmes just continued to work on his game and his body. The 6-10, 245-pounder raised some eyebrows last season, showing terrific energy off the bench, relentless pursuit of the basketball off the backboard and excellent shot-blocking ability.

Where he would fit into the logjam in the middle of the lane was anyone's guess, including his own. But with his improved play, built-up physique and do-anything attitude, Holmes has now plugged himself right in the middle of the conversation. And with Okafor's recovery a bit slow and Noel battling a sore groin, he will get even more chances to showcase his talents. Brown now has four legitimate contenders to man the middle.

If only this country had that many good options for the upcoming presidential election.

"You just don't worry about it," Holmes said of being the forgotten big man this offseason. "You just go into the summer and use it to work as hard as you possibly can and to get better. When the opportunity presents itself, just try to grab it by the horns. That's kind of the attitude I have. Whenever I get my opportunity, just play as hard as possible."

He got nearly 38 minutes of opportunity in Thursday's double-overtime exhibition loss to the Washington Wizards and produced 20 points, 12 rebounds and a couple of blocks. The best part of his offense isn't really diagrammed; it's more that he bangs on the blocks when he gets the ball or aggressively pursues, and gets, offensive rebounds for put-backs. Half of his boards against Washington came at the offensive end.

The Bowling Green product, who was drafted by the Sixers in the second round in 2015, has become comfortable with one- or two-dribble moves to the hole, and the team has encouraged him since Day 1 to look for his outside shot, though he made only eight of 44 from three last season. Overall, he shot 51.4 percent, averaging 13.8 minutes in 51 games.

He is a quiet monster, who lets his play inflict wounds, not his words. He just wants to play ball, and when he rolled an ankle on a referee's foot after the opening tip of the second overtime on Thursday, Holmes waved off Brown and the training staff and finished out the game. With the abundance of injuries crippling this team right now, Holmes was not going to let a bothersome ankle stop him.

"I feel like we saw glimpses last year, and I feel like his facial expressions tell the whole story," Brown said. "He is a determined, competitive young man, and you see it all over his face. He wants to go dunk on people, he wants to go swat a shot. And he wanted to get through (the ankle roll). All those things highlight him as a competitor.

"His name wasn't in that mix when talking about the abundance of 'five' men. His name deserves to be in that mix. The work that he has put in, he's a good young man, and he loves basketball, too, and he just doesn't go away. You see him practicing and you can see how he ticks, with his facial expressions. If he is anything, he sure is competitive."

And because of that, the decision of what to do with all the big men in the long run becomes a little more tangled.

In the meantime, there will be minutes to be had, because of injuries and minute restrictions. There is also the value for Holmes going against his teammates in practice every day. He knows it all. He quietly goes about his business, while making serious noise when he's on the court.

"I don't mind it," Holmes said of being omitted in offseason conversations. "That kind of how it's been since I've been playing basketball. It works better for me. I can just kind of work hard in private and then show it out on the basketball floor. Coach told me just to put myself in a good position. Coach told me to come back in the best shape that I've ever been in, and I tried to do that. I've tried to listen to everything the coaches have told me to get better. It's been working out and hopefully it continues to work out. I don't care about anything else but performing when I'm out there.

"And just competing against these guys in practice, that's automatically going to get you better. I enjoy it and I love the challenge. Those are three great guys, and I enjoy competing with them. They are all tough in different ways. Jo Jo, he's got so many moves down there and he is so big. Jah, with his quickness and everything, and Nerlens, the way he plays defense makes me better on offense. They all do different things that make them great, and I enjoy playing against them every day."

Welcome to the conversation, Richaun Holmes.

@BobCooney76

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