Know Your Team: JR Holder
Sudbury Five
6'6
Forward
From Atlanta, Georgia
Jairus "JR" Holder has not been playing professional basketball for very long, but has seen a lot of accolades come his way in that short time. He also hasn't been playing for the Sudbury Five long, but since joining the team in December 2019 he hit the ground running.
After averaging a double-double in his senior year with Mount Zion High School in Jonesboro, Georgia, Holder went on to play for the Jacksonville Dolphins in Division 1 of the NCAA.
In his freshman season he was the highest scoring bench player and went on to forge a bigger part for himself on the team as a sophomore. Junior year, Holder finished in the top ten in the Atlantic-Sun conference for scoring, as well as the eleventh-best rebounder and stealer. He had his best numbers on offence as a senior with 17.7 points per game.
He turned professional in 2017 and signed with the Leicester Riders in the British Basketball League. Immediately becoming a starter, he would go on to finish the season having averaged 15.7 points per game as the team finished as league champions. He himself won the MVP award of the league's Trophy competition.
Holder re-signed with the Riders for the next season, which saw the team participate in the European league system, the first British team to do so for ten years. They transferred to the FIBA Europe Cup after losing to the Bakken Bears in the first qualifying round of the Basketball Champions League, but fared no better in Group H of the second-tier competition, unable to pick up a single win.
Back in the BBL, Holder averaged 14.2 points per game for the Riders, who went on to sweep the playoff quarter and semi-finals before a final 93-61 defeat of the London Royals in the final would give them and Holder their second successive playoff title.
The 2018-19 season over, Holder moved across the Atlantic to join the Sudbury Five. He took on a similar role in Sudbury as he had in Leicester - quickly becoming a starter and key part of the team's defence. He scored in double-digits in his first five games and would continue to be a big offensive power for the team as the season continues.
