By DAVID DRIVER
Special Correspondent
KECSKEMET, Hungary — After his first season overseas as a pro basketball player — which was split between Slovakia and the Czech Republic — Gibson City native Ryland Holt had some choices and adjustments to make.
Among the options was the opportunity to return to the same club in Slovakia, while a team in Bucharest, Romania expressed interest via his Croatia-based agent.
In the end, Holt, after weighing the opinion of his wife Jeanine Fabbri, opted to play this season for the city of Szolnok in central-east Hungary.
“I talked to the coach here in Szolnok and it was a comfortable conversation,” said Holt, a 2019 Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley graduate. “It went quite well. I had a couple of options, but it worked out for the Hungarian league. It has been great. I am excited about the season.”
In his first four games in Hungary, the 6-foot-6 Holt averaged 20.0 minutes, 7.8 points and 1.7 assists per contest for the defending league champions in domestic play. He also had 30 points in the first two contests in Champions League play against clubs from outside of Hungary.
“It is fast paced with a lot of structure,” he said of the team’s offense.
The head coach, Vedran Bosnic, 49, guided clubs for several years in Belgium and Switzerland and is the former coach of the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team. This is the first season in Hungary for Bosnic, who speaks English well.
Other Americans on the team with Szolnok are Auston Barnes, who is from Michigan and ended his college career at Bradley in 2015; Brady Skeens, who is from Kansas and played at Washburn through 2018; and Le’Tre Darthard, who is from Texas and ended his college career at Oklahoma in 2024. This season there must always be two Hungarians on the court for each team, which limits playing time for foreigners.
“I think Holt is a player that brings a lot to the team,” Skeens wrote in a text. “He is versatile and can play multiple positions on offense as well as guard any position on defense since he has great size for a guard.”
Off the court, Holt and his wife are provided with the free use of a two-bedroom apartment and a car.
Szolnok has a population of about 70,000 people and is located near the Great Hungarian Plain about 60 miles southeast of capital Budapest. Hungarian judoka Olympian Hedvig Karakas was born in Szolnok and current prime minister Victor Orban once lived there.
“It is a nice city. It has everything you need,” Holt said.
IMPRESSIVE ROAD WIN
Playing here on Sunday night, Oct. 19 in a road game, Holt and his teammates posted an impressive victory. Tied at the end of the first quarter, Szolnok led by eight at halftime and 70-60 going into the final quarter.
The defending champs then went on 27-4 run to start the fourth quarter and won in a romp 101-70. Holt got more involved in the offense with more touches in the second half, as he hit a 3-pointer in the third quarter and hit another trey early in the fourth quarter — banking the shot in from the top of the key.
Holt finished with 12 points in 21 minutes off the bench as Szolnok improved to 4-0 in the Hungarian league.
“We have a lot of guys that can score, and we play good team basketball,” said Holt, standing outside the team dressing room after the win. “On the defensive end, we locked in. It was a little sloppy in the first half.”
About 100 fans of Szolnok made the drive of about one hour west to cheer on the team, which is customary for hard-core fans in Europe.
Clad in the team colors of red and black, the visiting fans continued cheering nonstop during the fourth quarter run. And after the game, as is practice in Europe, the Szolnok players recognized their fans that sat on the opposite side of the court from the team bench. Some of those fans went to Athens recently to see Szolnok play in the Champions League.
“When they start chanting at the end, you see the passion they have,” Holt said. “It is amazing. Even in Greece, we had a nice fan section. They are amazing.”
SOLID TEAMMATE
Holt played in college at the Division II level at Minnesota State Mankato and West Texas A&M but has forged a pro career, facing opponents with a Division I background at the NCAA level. And some of his teammates also played at a higher level in the United States.
“He can shoot the ball well from the three but he’s also a great cutter and slasher, so he is able to well around the rim,” according to Skeens, who has played in several countries, including Italy, Finland and Turkey. “He always brings energy whether he is starting or coming off the bench which isn’t always easy, but every time he steps on the court, he positively impacts the game. I think he’s going to have a great career and be able to play for many years. He continues to learn, grow, and is very coachable. He works hard to improve his game every time we practice and play.”
“Off the court, he is a great teammate as well which is my opinion is even more important than being a great basketball player,” Skeens added. “He doesn’t always have the most to say, but from knowing him these past couple months he’s a good guy that cares about us all and is never a problem in the locker room. I am excited to continue to play with him and watch him get better and believe he will be very valuable for us this season.”
The Gibson City product hopes to learn from his current coach, who implored Holt to be aggressive when he gave up an open shot in the first half Sunday.
“He is a very high-level coach. It is a really good opportunity to learn from him,” Holt said.
Holt is proud of his hometown roots and coming from Division II programs to now play at the pro level.
“It means a lot, especially coming from a small town. Both of them (high school and college), I represent them really well. It means a lot. You don’t always have top-notch facilities at Division II and four or five coaches to let you in the gym. It did kind of prepare me (for overseas). I was a little more ready.”
He is now taking advantage of those opportunities in his second pro season.
Editor’s note: Virginia native David Driver lived for three years in Hungary, now lives in Poland and is the author of “Hoop Dreams in Europe: American Basketball Players Building Careers Overseas,” available on Amazon and at daytondavid.com.