The Townsville McDonald’s Crocodiles are happy to announce that resurgent veteran Jacob Holmes will remain at the club until at least the 2013/14 season after signing a two-year deal with the club this week.
Jacob has been somewhat of a revelation at the Crocs this season, averaging 13.9 points a game to be the Crocs second leading scorer behind Peter Crawford. The South Australian product has also been outstanding on the boards in his first year as a Croc, with his 9.7 rebounds per game the second best average in the entire NBL.
Jacob was left clubless after not being offered a new deal by the Adelaide 36ers last year but he was thrown a career lifeline by Townville late in the pre season to cover for the loss of injured skipper Russell Hinder. The 28-year-old quickly repaid the faith the club showed in him and has been a vital part of the Crocs’ lineup this year as they strive for a maiden NBL Championship.
Crocs CEO Ian Smythe said the club was thrilled to secure the tireless worker’s signature for the next two seasons and looked forward to what Jacob had to offer the club.
“The club has been particularly happy with Jacob since he has arrived here and we’re delighted he’s agreed to extend his stay. His resurgence this year has been fantastic and he has demonstrated to the league that he is one of the premier players in this competition,” said Smythe.
“He expressed an interest and desire to stay at the club and we were happy to continue our relationship with him. His contributions to the club are not just restricted to the court, he goes out of his way to engage the community and our fans and we couldn’t be happier with how he has performed for us.”
The 28-year-old has played more minutes than any other Crocs player this year and again proved his worth on the weekend in the club’s thrilling 118-114 double overtime victory over the Sydney Kings.
Holmes recorded his seventh double-double of the year in Saturday night’s nail-biting win, with his 20 points and 10 rebounds including a clutch three-pointer that sent the game into overtime.
Jacob’s wife Conor will be relocating to Townsville from Adelaide and he said he is grateful for opportunities that the club has offered him this year and for the next two seasons.
“Signing provides some security for me and my wife, which is always good and I’m really happy living up here. Conor has also spent a small period of time up here and she really enjoyed it. To re-sign here for a few years has been the plan all along and I’m just really happy that it has eventuated,” said Holmes.
“I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my time playing here so far and I’m looking forward to continuing on for the next couple of years and hopefully longer. It’s about getting better every day and I’m always trying to improve individually and as a group with my teammates.”
Jacob and his teammates will look to continue their winning ways this weekend when they take on the Wollongong Hawks at ‘The Swamp’ on Saturday night.
The Crocs easily accounted for the Hawks, 72-57 in Wollongong earlier in the month and will be confident of producing a similar result on their home floor with the parochial ‘Swamp’ crowd behind them.
The Crocs next home game is against the Wollongong Hawks, tipping off at 7:30pm this Saturday January 21.
Tickets are now on sale for the clash at the Entertainment Centre, call 4771 4000 weekdays 9am - 4:30pm or anytime online at www.tecc.net.au
