As part of the Pac-12 Global initiative Sun Devil junior-to-be Tra Holder, who last year became the first Pac-12 player to open league play with four straight 20-point games since Cal's Patrick Christopher in 2008-09, is part of the Pac-12 Conference's All-Star Team going to Melbourne, Australia for a series of cultural experiences and exhibition games against the Australia Men's National Team in July of 2016.
Stock rising for this guy in 2016-17 (but as of last look he still has no Twitter) https://t.co/eg371XBBST pic.twitter.com/ot3vJdRPaD
— Sun Devil MBB (@SunDevilHoops) May 17, 2016
TOP RETURNING SCORERS IN THE PAC-12 IN 2016-17
Isaac Hamilton, UCLA, 16.8
Dillon Brooks, Oregon, 16.7
Bryce Alford, UCLA, 16.1
Josh Hawkinson, Washington State, 15.4
Allonzo Trier, Arizona, 14.8
Tra Holder, Arizona State, 14.2
The Pac-12 All-Star Men's Basketball Team, comprised of 12 student-athletes from 10 member schools, will participate in two games against the Australia Men's National Team - known as the Australian Boomers - in its preparation for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, as well as a third contest versus a team from the semi-professional South East Australian Basketball League (SEABL).
TRA HOLDER YEAR ONE TO YEAR TWO2014-15/2015-16
PPG: 7.0/14.2
FG%: .317/.387
3PM: 12/49
3PT%: .240/.366
FT%: .708/.727
Tra's development in the past two seasons has been fun to watch. In his freshman season (2014-15) after the Jan. 15 Utah game, he was shooting below 30 percent, had 15 buckets, two three-pointers and was averaging just over four points, but he ended up on the Pac-12 All-Freshman Team with a strong second half of the season. He turned it up a notch from that point on and last year (2015-16), he averaged a team-best 14.2 points and made 49 three-pointers. He led the team in scoring in 16 games and had seven 20-point games, after not having any in his freshman season. He became the first Sun Devil to post five straight 20-point games since James Harden did it in his freshman season of 2007-08??????????.
TRA HOLDER 7 20+ SCORING GAMES26 at UCLA (1/9/16)
24 vs. #8 Arizona (1/3/16)
23 vs. CSU-Bakersfield (12/28/15)
22 vs. North Carolina State (11/23/15)
21 at USC (1/7/16)
20 vs. #23 USC (2/12/16)
20 vs. Washington State (1/16/16)
The Pac-12 All-Star Men's Basketball Team's tour, promoted by TLA Worldwide and TEG Live, will be the first of two events involving Pac-12 member institutions in Australia this year, as CALIFORNIA will open the 2016 college football season on August 27 in Sydney against Hawai'i. This historic game is also being delivered and operated by TLA Worldwide and TEG Live.
TRA HOLDER CAREER HIGHS
POINTS: 26 at UCLA (1/9/16)
FG MADE: 9 at UCLA (1/9/16)
FG ATT: 16 (6x) at Stanford (1/23/16)
3PT MADE: 5 at Washington (2/3/16)
3PT ATT: 9 at Washington (2/3/16)
FT MADE: 12 vs. Colorado (3/1/15)
FT ATT: 16 (2x) vs. Colorado (3/1/15)
REBOUNDS: 9 at UNLV (12/16/15)
ASSISTS: 8 (4x) vs. Oregon State (1/28/16)
MINUTES: 42 (3x) at Washington (2/3/16)????????
Four-time Conference Coach of the Year and 2016 College Basketball Hall of Fame inductee Mike Montgomery will serve as head coach of the Pac-12 All-Star Men's Basketball Team. Montgomery, who ranks 21st in NCAA Division I history with 676 career victories in 32 seasons as head coach at CALIFORNIA, STANFORD and Montana, will be joined on the coaching staff by Trent Johnson, a Coach of the Year in three different conferences, and former STANFORD All-American guards Brevin Knight and Casey Jacobsen. The staff will lead a three-day training camp in Los Angeles from July 5-7 before the group embarks on the tour from July 9-14. The six-day tour will also provide student-athletes the opportunity to experience Australian culture, visit historic landmarks, and engage in off-the-court activities in the country's second-most populous city.
Game dates are slated for Sunday, July 10 (vs. SEABL team), Tuesday, July 12 (vs. Australia MNT), and Thursday, July 14 (vs. Australia MNT). All three games will be held at Hisense Arena, a 10,500-seat venue that serves as the home of Melbourne United, the city's franchise in the professional National Basketball League (NBL). The group will then return to the U.S. on July 15.