Hollowell out for fall
Take a look at Eastern’s men’s basketball roster and you will not find James Hollowell on it.
Not as a player.
Not as a grad assistant.
Non-existent.
Despite having one year of NCAA eligibility remaining, Hollowell, an effective shot blocker and consistent contributor on the score sheet and on the boards in the past, will not be hitting the hardwood this fall.
Sharp decisions are made on and off the lines in sports, especially in the professional ranks and the NCAA. Head Coach Jay Spoonhour is not exempt.
“In my job, sometimes you have to make decisions, and they don’t always benefit everyone,” Spoonhour said.
Spoonhour cites the primary focus on the student-athlete in terms of the athletic department and himself fulfilling their obligation to Hollowell.
“Eastern Illinois’ responsibility to James was to ensure he had every opportunity to earn his degree,” Spoonhour said.
With both sides fulfilling their obligations to march toward that degree, moving on in the name of the team was the next step for Spoonhour.
“My responsibility is to the program as a whole and to make sure that we have the best opportunity to win this year and in future years, and I have made decisions based on that,” he said.
Understandably so, coaches have the obligation to put out the best team possible in order to earn wins, retain their jobs, boost recruitment and possibly ascend to greater heights in the future.
Still cloudy, however, is the exact condition of Hollowell’s back injury, and if he could have been a consistent contributor in the fall as he was in the past.
The stats say that a healthy Hollowell can contribute, with him still leading the team in points, blocks and/or rebounds in certain contests.
One possibility is the emergence (or expected emergence) of newcomers (freshmen, transfers, JUCO signees) which could either fill the hole left by Hollowell (that is, if any hole was seen by the new staff in the first place) or create the kind of roster that will best suit Spoonhour’s vision for the future of the program.
Spoonhour says that by NCAA rule (and law) that the info provided is all that he can provide, so for now, the new-look Panthers will head into the fall one veteran down.
Men’s hoops is a sport where younger and new players can make an impact fairly quickly versus other teams that may require more time to strike the learning curve.
The Panthers will showcase their work for the first time this November.
Joshua Bryant can
be reached at 581-2812
