Now that he’s in the NBA, Aric Holman is cherishing his opportunities to give back and make an impact on the lives of children in his hometown. The Los Angeles Laker is back in Owensboro for a few days before heading back to prepare for training camp, and he spent Tuesday afternoon visiting young fans at the H.L. Neblett Community Center.
Before playing a little basketball with the children, Holman — a former standout at Owensboro High School who helped win the 2015 state championship — spent a few minutes answering questions and stressing the importance of both education and hard work in order to be successful.
“In order to be the best you can be, it doesn’t matter what it is, you have to put a lot of time into it,” Holman told the children of how hard it can be to reach the top. “There will be times you want to hang out with your friends, but you have to get better at your craft or whatever you want to do in life.”
Holman said if he can reach just one child, it’s still worth his efforts.
“I only need one kid out of the group to be inspired,” he said. “I just want to be the best role model I can be. In saying that, the kid that follows me doesn’t have to play basketball. They don’t have to play sports at all. If they have that motivation of wanting to be good or be great at whatever they do in whatever field they choose, I feel like my job will be complete if I help them get to that.”
T’Onna Drake, lead preschool teacher at the Neblett Center, organized the visit by Holman. With many of the children not having a male role model, she didn’t waste any time reaching out to Holman after he signed with the Lakers.
“I reached out to Aric and asked him to come in and let the kids know it’s important to stay in school, and how you can be anything you want to be,” she said. “I told them I had a surprise for them that was better than Batman or Superman or (Frozen characters) Anna and Elsa. I had to bring him in. I reached out to him and said I really need you. The kids are going to be so happy.”
After a quick question-and-answer session, the children got to step on the court with Holman. A handful tried to guard him — with no success — while others formed a line to let the towering 6’11” forward lift them up to dunk the ball.
“They were happy,” Drake said. “I had one that could not stop smiling. She’s still walking away saying wow. As kids, this will go with them forever. I’ve been here 8 years, and I think this is the happiest I’ve ever seen them. It was better than Santa Claus coming.”
For Holman, giving back is one of the most rewarding aspects of reaching the NBA. He spent plenty of days and nights at Dugan Best Community Center and the Neblett Center, so he understands the impact he can have.
“It’s definitely a blessing,” Holman said. “I cherish all these moments because when I grew up I really didn’t have these moments to look up to somebody. I take advantage of every time somebody calls me to come talk.”
His message is simple no matter where he goes.
“Just believe in yourself,” he said. “You don’t need to have much. Just that simple word took me a long way. When times got tough, I just sat down and believed that with all the work I put in, something good was going to come out of this, whether it was basketball or something else outside of basketball.”
