WS Chronicle

Holcomb-Faye

BY CRAIG T. GREENLEE 

FOR THE CHRONICLE

Parkland’s boys’ basketball program has seen better days. Over the past decade, the Mustangs have only one winning season to show for their efforts.

Enter Travis Holcomb-Faye, the newly hired coach who has a vision to restore the program to the prominence it enjoyed in the late 1990s. Holcomb-Faye is no stranger to high school hoops in the Triad. Prior to taking over at Parkland, he had five-year stints as an assistant coach at Mount Tabor and Reagan.

“I’m just ready to begin this journey,” he said. “I’m so blessed and thankful that I have this opportunity. I can’t wait to get started.”

Parkland showed much promise during the early portion of this past season. The Mustangs pulled off a shocker by beating top-seeded North Forsyth to win the Pepsi bracket of the Frank Spencer Holiday Classic in December. Sporadic play, however, characterized the rest of the season as the Mustangs fell to 9-15 overall and 1-11 in the Central Piedmont 4-A Conference.

Holcomb-Faye, 34, is not fazed by Parkland’s most recent history. Given his resume as a high school and AAU coach, there’s no doubt in his mind that he’s ready and equipped to handle the challenge.

“I want to see progression,” he said. “I feel that Parkland can finish in the top three in our conference next year. You might think that’s a stretch. But with the players we have coming back, I plan on making that happen. I don’t mean to sound cocky or arrogant, but I’m very confident about what I can do with young men. Over the next five years, I believe I can get this varsity program back to where it used to be.”

As a player, Holcomb-Faye, a self-professed “gym rat,” enjoyed a stellar career. As a high school senior, his Reynolds squad won the 1998 Spencer Classic championship and he was voted tournament MVP. At East Carolina, he played four seasons and led the team in assists and minutes played every year. Holcomb-Faye graduated as the Pirates’ all-time leader in assists.

Going back to his high school playing days, Holcomb-Faye has long been impressed with the level of athleticism at Parkland. His job, as he describes it, is to help his players maximize their athleticism on the court.

“With my basketball background, I feel that I can come in and help turn these athletes into better basketball players,” he said. “As a point guard, I wasn’t very fast and I wasn’t very strong. I was small, but I always played with IQ. That was my biggest asset as a player and that’s my strength as a coach. I’m a student of the game. I love being in the gym and I’m expecting the same out of my boys.”

With this time of year being basketball’s off-season, Holcomb-Faye will place heavy emphasis sharpening basic hoops skills. His players will put in a lot of work on the fundamentals to help ensure that they are fundamentally sound in all facets of the game.

“I want to train these players to play the game the right way,” he said. “We’ll play tough defense, and we’ll play fast and get good shots in transition. It’s going to be fun to watch our team play.”