A Navy blue T-shirt, basketball shorts, white socks and black sneakers cover the 6-foot, skinny 19-year-old who sits twirling a finger around one of the twists in his hair as he reminisces about his most memorable plays. æ
“We were down six points on the one yard line with three seconds left playing the St. Thomas Aquinas Raiders,” he says. “Coach said it was all in my hands and told the quarterback to just get the ball in my hands.” æ
“We ran the play and I don’t know what was in me but I made it my business to catch the ball,” he continues. “I ran 99 yards to win the game and the 2002 Junior Varsity Football Championship. That was my introduction to high school as far as athletics. I became popular after that play.”æ
He goes on to say that in a high school basketball game, he swished a _ court shot to win the game. æ
“We were up by two points with 17 seconds left. One kid went up for a lay up and missed. I got the rebound and shot from [the free throw line]. Everybody rushed the court.”æ
Weighing in at 165 pounds, Avery Holley is Florida Atlantic University’s only freshman varsity player in both football and basketball.æ
Having played both sports for 14 years, Holley is no stranger to the dedication that each demands. Holley wears the number 10 jersey in basketball and the number one jersey in football.æ
“Football is physical. Everybody is like a man and going hard,” Holley says. “Basketball is all conditioning because you’re always running.” æ
Holley says he has the desire to keep playing and that his body is in shape for it. At the end of the football season, he goes straight into basketball.æ
“Depending on how far we go in the football season, I may miss basketball, but not more than two games.”æ
Born to David Holley and Cherry Key, Holley is one of five children. He attended Blanche Ely High School in Pompano Beach where he played for Coach Melvin Randall in basketball. As a junior, he averaged 19.4 points, 4.2 rebounds and 5.6 assists per game. As a senior he averaged 20.9 points, 4.3 rebounds and 8.2 assists per game while shooting nearly 48 percent from the field and 75 percent from the free throw line. æAt the same time, he started in football where he was coached by Greg McGirt, and racked up 784 yards on 29 receptions and tallied 14 touchdowns. Defensively, he had four interceptions.
Holley said that his dad made him play football when he was six years old and as he kept going, he learned to love it.æ
“It’s an equal support system in my family,” Holley notes, “but as far as someone who is always aroundæand is always going to be there, that would be my dad.”æ
FAU Head Football Coach Howard Schnellenberger says that Holley is unique and outstanding.æ
“He has the ability, time and the desire to play both,” Schnellenberger says, “When he develops and grows he will find his identity, then I would probably see him most like Ernest Gibbons, who was the first round choice of the Houston Oilers.”æ
It was Holley’s dynamic skills for someone so young to be advanced with that caught the eye of the coach.æ
“He caught 12 passes, which is unusual for a freshman on my team,” Schnellenberger says. “He impressed me in practice, which gave me confidence to put him in the game when most freshmen don’t play.”
FAU basketball head coach Rex Walters said that Holley is talented, hard-nosed and has a very good feel for the game. Walters believes that Holley is effective at his guard position and that as a freshman, he still has a lot to learn.æ
“Avery is very Allan Iverson-like,” Walters says, “He is very, very skinny and very, very quick and tough.”æ
Walters also says that a stand out quality of Holley is his confidence.
“He was playing with an injured shoulder,” Walters says, “his toughness sticks out to me more than any great shot or pass.”æ
Holley says that he wants to play professionally, whether it is basketball or football, and that he eventually wants to coach.æ
“I want to coach in my community,” Holley says. “I come from a place where the odds are stacked against me and I want to [be able to] help someone else.”æ
Holley adds that since growing up was hard, playing was his escape and that he used his talent to earn a scholarship.æ
“My high school has a great tradition; we have the most NFL players,” he says. “They come back and give to the community. I want to be part of that and I am always going back there.”æ
Holley says that his idol in basketball is Iverson because they have a lot in common. In football, he says his idol is Terrell Owens.æ
“Iverson grew up playing both sports and succeeded on the highest level, which is something I am trying to do,” Holley says. “Terrell is a great player; he plays my position and there is always something new going on with him.”æ
When he’s off the court and the gridiron, Holley says that he likes to shop, watch movies, go to church and considers himself a prankster. æ
“I’m a freshman, so I get the tricks played on me but I am thinking about getting some of the defensive players back,” he says. “But I’ve got some good teammates.”æ
Sophomore Paul Graham, who plays guard for the Owls, adds that Holley is a great guy who is funny and outgoing.
“We’re kind of close,” Graham says. “We talk about different situations. I give him pointers to keep his head on straight.”æ
Holley says that he chose to come to FAU because the university allowed him to play both sports. In addition to athletics, he wanted to stay close to home.æ
“I plan on staying here as long as they treat me right and I take care of my academics,” Holley says.æ
Holley will enter his sophomore year with a 2.4 grade point average. His major is currently undecided. He hopes that young athletes don’t take school for granted.
“My advice to high school athletes who want to follow in my footsteps is to get your academics,” Holley says. “You can’t do anything without academics, even if you are the greatest player. It plays a big role.”
