RON HOLMES--THE SWIFTEST TROJAN HORSE OF ALL : Much Is Given; Much Asked

Sometimes it seems that Ron Holmes is a reined-in race horse among Clydesdales when USC is on a fast break.

Even so, Holmes is usually in front of the pack, sprinting to the basket. He also has the ability to contort his body, hang in the air to draw a foul near the basket, and still get his shot down.

Athlete is the word that best describes the senior wingman. You could envision him playing wide receiver or defensive back in football, high-jumping in track--all of the things he did while he was at El Toro High School.

“He’s among the top five athletes I’ve ever coached,” said USC Coach Stan Morrison, identifying Dwight Anderson, Darnell Hillman, James McDonald and Glenn Smith, Holmes’ teammate, as the others.

Holmes has to be a skilled athlete to play the wing position--a combination of shooting guard and small forward. His moves are fluid and he is an offensive threat both from the field and foul line.

On a team not noted for its outside shooting, Holmes is accurate with a high-arc, medium-range jump shot. He shares the team’s scoring lead with forward Wayne Carlander, both averaging 15.7 points a game.

He is also the team’s best free-throw shooter, having made 79.6% of his shots from the line. That percentage is even better in the closing minutes of games.

Yet for all of his skills, the 6-foot 5-inch Holmes has been characterized as inconsistent. There have been games in which Holmes has virtually disappeared, and Morrison has been quick to bench him.

There was also some doubt as to Holmes’ commitment to aggressive defense.

Morrison seems to ride Holmes more than the other players.

“I don’t know if I get on him more than anyone else.” Morrison said. “But Ron is a spectacular athlete, and part of that is taking chances. And timing on taking chances means a lot.

“If you’re going to throw my paycheck up in the air from 22 feet, off balance, double clutching with only 30 seconds left on the clock, and us down by one point, damn right I’m going to get on him. If he’s willing to take the risk, he should be willing to take the consequences.

“I love risk-takers, but I like smart decision-making by risk-takers. I get after him because he’s such a great athlete. I expect more.”

Holmes has been more consistent this season, one of the main reasons that USC is leading the Pacific 10 race--a position the Trojans will try to retain tonight in a game against Arizona State at the Sports Arena.

Holmes laughs when reminded that Morrison is quick to chastise him.

“He gets on me in situations that he knows that I can excel in,” Holmes said. “If I don’t, he’ll bring it to my attention. He’ll get on me, for example, for not filling the lane on the fast break because he realizes that I’m one of the fastest guys on the team. He thinks I have some ability and, if he stopped talking to me, well. . . . “

As for inconsistency, Holmes says that he is now going hard all the time, even when his jump shot deserts him.

“If my jump shot is off, I’ll go to the offensive boards and keep hammering instead of going into the tank,” he said. “Like, I got to play only 18 minutes the first time we played Washington State, but I came back strong the next game. I wouldn’t go into the tank and sulk and cry about the minutes. I realized that we have to keep winning and that was only one game.”

He played only 19 minutes in USC’s recent double-overtime win over UCLA--and he wasn’t on the floor in the two overtime periods. Even so, he was encouraging others from the bench.

Holmes didn’t say that he had sulked in previous years when he was benched but admitted that he wondered why he wasn’t playing.

“Now I let it pass and go ahead and play,” he said. “I just try to go hard all the time and it pays off, like the two baskets I got at the end of the last Washington game and the tip-in I got at the end of our game Saturday with Washington State.”

Morrison said he has been pleased with Holmes’ consistency this season, not only as a scorer but also as a rebounder, playmaker and defender.

“The whole key is that he has chosen to work hard in all those avenues that will make him a complete player and helping his team be successful,” Morrison said.

Holmes says that maturity and confidence have made the difference between this season’s successful team and last season’s losing team. “Last year we went into games hoping not to be blown out,” he said. “We didn’t have confidence in ourselves and neither did anyone on campus. We’d go on road trips just to be going. Now we’re going with a purpose--to win. We’ve kept our poise and haven’t panicked. I don’t think the crowd can be a factor. They can’t come on the court and play us.”

USC is unbeaten in six conference road games, having swept the Arizona, Oregon and Washington schools. The odds against such an accomplishment are prohibitive.

The Trojans are also particularly poised in the closing minutes of games, having won six games by six or fewer points.

“In the last few minutes of a ballgame, we want to go inside,” Holmes said. “We won’t take any bad outside shots even if they’re there. We won’t force anything. If someone has an open 16-foot shot, the right person has to be shooting it. But our primary goal is to go inside and try to get fouled. We’ve been successful at doing that.”

USC has had the same starting lineup since the season began, and Holmes said the starters are all suffering from nagging injuries.

“I have shin splints in my left leg,” he said. “You may have noticed that I haven’t been dunking as well as I have in the past. I’m trying to play a mental game now, instead of being flamboyant.

“Clayton (Olivier) has a bad knee, Larry (Friend) has a problem with both knees and Derrick’s (Dowell) knees pain him. Wayne won’t even talk about his injuries, but he’s also in a bad way.”

Nevertheless, the Trojans persevere and Holmes says the team is far from being complacent.

“We’ve won all those games on the road and Arizona is still only one game behind us,” he said. “People say if we beat Arizona State and Arizona this week, we’ll win the conference.

“I can’t see that. Oregon State (7-3) is right on our butts. We have to go into the Bay Area to meet Stanford and Cal, and they distort the game. We also have to play UCLA in Pauley Pavilion.”

Holmes says he would like to play in the NBA but that he wouldn’t be devastated if he doesn’t because he has other options. He’s a public administration major who will graduate in March. Morrison says that Holmes can do anything he sets his mind to.

“There are very few athletes in America who have more things going for them than Ronnie Holmes.” Morrison said. “You can’t find a more handsome, brighter, or more articulate athlete. You also can’t find many who are faster and jump higher.

“He has everything going in the world. In essence, Ron Holmes can do whatever he decides to do. He can also not accomplish what he decides not to accomplish.”

Trojan Notes USC beat Arizona State (11-11, 6-6) last month in Tempe, Ariz., 73-54. But the Sun Devils shot only 32.1% from the floor. Stan Morrison said that ASU is the most talented team in the league through 10 players. In a preseason coaches’ poll, Arizona State was picked to finish third in the conference. ASU has one of the best backcourt combinations in the league in Steve Beck and Bobby Thompson. . . . USC will play Arizona Saturday in a noon game (Channel 5) at the Sports Arena.