Randal Holt is a 25 year old 185cm point guard from Bedford, Ohio that is playing his third professional season, but was recently released by the Dresden Titans where he played 20 games averaging 16,0ppg, 3,0rpg and 4,5apg.He started his basketball career at Kent St. (NCAA) in 2009 and played 131 NCAA games until 2013 and as a senior played 33 games averaging 14.6ppg, 3.2rpg, 2.5apg, 1.3spg, FGP: 36.4%, 3PT: 38.6%, FT: 86.0%. As a rookie he played for Weissenhorn Youngstars (Germany-ProB) playing  25 games: 19.4ppg, 3.6rpg, 4.2apg, 1.8spg, FGP: 53.3%, 3PT: 38.2%, FT: 81.6%. Last season with the Dresden Titans he played 15 games: Score-3(21.7ppg), 4.3rpg, Assists-3(6.1apg), 1.8spg, FGP: 50.4%, 3PT: 40.5%, FT: 85.1%. He spoke to German Hoops after being relased by the Dresden Titans.

Randall thanks for talking to German Hoops. You are back on your way back to the United States after being released from German Pro A team Dresden Titans. Were you able to wind down on the flight a bit or was the Dresden Titans season fiasco in your head?

Hello Miles thank you for the interview. I was able to unwind on the flight and just focus on getting home safely and eager to see my family.

The Dresden Titans released you and American Jervon Pressley. Do you feel it was the right decision to release its two best players so late in the season?

Yes we were released from the team and it was a decision that came down from management who is in charge of those decisions so if they felt it was the right move for the team then I can’t argue that at all.

One can say that  you had a tale of two season halves starting with a high last season where you helped the team move up to the Pro A and this season a low as the team is on the verge of moving back to the Pro B. When you came out of training camp this season and somebody had told you on the eve of the first game that the team would only have 2 wins by late January and be the door mat of the league what would you have thought?

I wouldn’t have believed then because coming out of training camp we were confident as a team and had a good chemistry with each other as we played our ore season games

The season looked ok in the first five games despite the team having only a 1-4 record, it did lose three bitter close games to Kirchheim, Paderborn and Ehingen. Had the team been able to have won those three games, the team would have been 4-1. Would you still be on the team now and where would the journey of the club gone the last three months had it been able to win those tight games at the start?

Yeah we lost some tough games to start off the season which definitely played a huge part in the struggle of the team as the season went on. To say if I would still be on the team or not is something I don’t have the answer to.

After the 91-83 victory against Trier something must have happened? All of a sudden the Dresden Titans not only lost games, but lost badly and usually with double digits and more. Were you ever able to understand what happened to the Dresden Titans after that?

I wish I knew specifically what it was that happened but I’m not really sure we just couldn’t find a way to put together some wins during that stretch of the season

What do you believe effected the team most with every new loss? Did the constant losing effect the team mentality so much that they were doomed to having to lose?

Yeah I think being in a situation where you are losing like that takes a toll on the team mentally especially when you are playing against teams that are good

The club liked to score, score score, but didn´t defend well enough. Was this the wrong the strategy to be able to win games in the German pro A?

No I don’t think it was the wrong strategy I just think that when it came down to us getting defensive stops in the clutch part of the game we always came up short

Former head coach Steven Clauss stuck with this play, but it didn´t result in any more wins. Was removing Steven Clauss the right decision? Don you believe the management should have given him more time?

Steven Clauss was a really good coach and fun to play for. Again that was a decision made by management who most likely thought it was the right decision for the club

The management then removed Clauss and brought in Liam Flynn, but nothing has really changed as the losing continued. Why do you feel wasn´t he team able to make it over the hump and start winning?

I don’t know the answer to that question the team still has more games left in the season so there are still opportunities to get some wins before the season is finished

How positive were you after the win against the Hamburg Towers that that might have been the turn in the season? Unfortunally the team continued to lose the next three games including the 96-67 wipeout against Nurnberg where they led 56-27 at halftime.

I felt pretty good about the second half of the season after beating Hamburg before the Christmas break. And the team had a good spirit as well but we just weren’t able to win a game

Didn´t a first half performance against Nurnberg where the team was down by 29 points clearly show that the team just isn´t mentally ready to play?

It definitely was an ugly first half of basketball!

One can´t always know how good a team record is solely on stats, but you were having a solid season averaging 16,6ppg, 2,9rpg and 4,8apg, but weren´t leading the team to wins. How much blame do you put on yourself with how this team performed?

I don’t put much of the blame on myself because it’s a team sport at the end of the day and as long as I went on the court and gave my best effort each game I can be satisfied with knowing that. If the team were winning I wouldn’t get all of the credit for the wins just as I shouldn’t take all the blame for the losing.

What do you believe could you have done better on the court? What do you feel was missing from your leadership and game and what did you learn from this experience with Dresden?

I always feel like there’s room for improvement but like I said before just knowing I went out every game and gave my best effort while carrying myself in professional manner are the things I pride myself on and I can be happy with knowing that at the end of the day.

Your teammate Jervon Pressley was also released. He had a lot of injury woes. Do you feel that he will be able to rebound and what will you always remember most about his play and character?

I definitely think Jervon will be able to bounce back and continue to do great things in his career. I will remember he was a good player and an even better teammate it was really nice win able to play with him in Dresden.

What is the next step for Randal Holt? How good are the chances that you will finish the season somewhere else or are you focusing more on family and getting ready for next season?

I’m not sure what’s next as of right now. I am back home training and waiting to see if I will get another opportunity to play and finish the season with another team but in the mean time I will be spending time with my family and cherishing these moments.

If you had to construct your own NBA Rushmore, which 4 heads would you choose?

Michael Jordan, Lebron James, Magic Johnson , Kobe Bryant

Lebron finally brought an NBA title to the Cavs. Where does he stand at the moment in the never ending debate with where he stands as the best of all-time?

Well I’m biased about it because I’m from Cleveland and we love Lebron like our own so I would say he is right behind Michael Jordan as the best player of all time

Where do you rank Kevin Garnett with the best power forwards that ever played the game?

Tied with Charles Barkley for 3rd all time!

Klay Thompson recently hit 60 points in 29 minutes touching the ball for only 90 seconds. Where does this performance rank with you?

Klay Thompson has nice shot I’m not sure where it ranks but it was a spectacular shooting night for him.

One always talks about Lebron and Curry, but one has to mention Russell Westbrook. He is averaging triple double stats at the moment. Is he stat wise the best player in the world right now?

Stat wise he is having the best season this year out of all the NBA superstars

What was the last movie that you saw?

Sleepless.

Thanks Randal for the chat.