University of Georgia Athletics
Amber Holt Signs With Lady Bulldogs
May 10, 2006 | Women's Basketball
ATHENS -- Amber Holt, a two-time junior college All-American at Southeastern Illinois College, has signed a letter of intent to continue her collegiate career with the Georgia Lady Bulldogs, head coach Andy Landers announced on Wednesday.
"We're excited about Amber because of the wide range of abilities that she brings to the table," Landers said. "A post player in high school and a point guard in junior college, she really has the ability to play any position from the 1-4. Probably the most impressive thing about Amber is her competitiveness. She has a warrior-like attitude."
Holt, a 6-0, guard, is a native of Duluth, Ga., where she was a standout at Meadowcreek High School before enrolling at Southeastern Illinois. At SIC, she was a two-time All-America selection and led the Lady Falcons to consecutive top-eight finishes at the NJCAA Championship.
"When Amber got here, we put her on the block," Southern Illnois coach Greg Franklin said. "But as we looked at her skills and what she could do to help us be the best we could be, we thought we should move her out to the perimeter. It was obvious she had the game to play out there. We started her at the '3' and she looked really, really comfortable there. Then we moved her to the '2' and she looked really, really comfortable there. Toward the end of her freshman season, we moved her to the '1' and she was really, really good there also. It's my feeling that she's not only the best player in the country - and I've seen the players people think are the best - she's one of the best players in the country at every position. You could put Amber at the '1', '2', '3', '4' or '5' and she's one of the one or two best players in the country at each of those positions."
As a freshman, Holt was named second-team All-America by the NJCAA after averaging 20.3 points, 10.9 rebounds and 3.6 steals for SIC. Among national leaders, she finished the season ranked No. 9 in both scoring and rebounding, as well as No. 10 in steals, No. 46 in free throw percentage (.775) and No. 50 in field goal percentage (.539).
As a sophomore, Holt was a Kodak All-American and a first-team All-America pick by the NJCAA. She averaged 20.2 points, 9.5 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 4.0 steals while leading Southern Illinois to a 33-3 record and a fifth-place finish at the NJCAA Tournament. Nationally, she ranked No. 15 in scoring, No. 30 in rebounding, No. 12 in steals and No. 40 in assists.
Holt averaged 19.1 points, 7.0 rebounds and 4.5 assists as a senior at Meadowcreek while leading the Lady Mustangs to a 20-7 record. Holt was a first-team All-State performer as a junior when she led Meadowcreek to a 24-6 record and a runner-up finish in the 2002 Class AAAAA State Tournament.
Georgia's Lady Bulldogs have long been one of the nation's top programs. The Lady Dogs have averaged 24.3 wins a year during Landers' 27 seasons in Athens. In addition, Georgia is ranked No. 4 in the all-time Associated Press poll, has advanced to five NCAA Final Fours and has captured a combined 11 SEC Championships and Tournament titles.
The Lady Bulldogs finished the 2005-06 season with a 23-9 record and ranked No. 12 and No. 13 in the final Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today polls, respectively. Georgia advanced to the "Sweet 16" round of the NCAA Tournament for the 16th time in 23 invitations to "March Madness."
The Lady Bulldogs are expected to be a pre-season top-10 pick this fall.
Landers will welcome back three starters: Tasha Humphrey, a 2006 Kodak All-American; Cori Chambers, a second-team All-SEC performer; and Megan Darrah, who averaged 10.2 points per game, as well as three more letterwinners. Georgia also is expected to receive a boost from the return of Rebecca Rowsey, a 6-3 forward who started every game in 2004-05, and Angel Robinson, a 6-5 McDonald's and WBCA prep All-American in 2005. Both Rowsey and Robinson missed last season after suffering knee injuries during the pre-season. In addition to Holt, Georgia signed three premier high school guard prospects last fall - Parade All-Americans Ashley Houts and Christy Marshall and Jaleesa Rhoden, a member of the 2004 and 2005 Canadian Junior National Teams.